


Summer's Heat

by awinterschild



Category: The Little White Horse - Elizabeth Goudge, The Secret of Moonacre (2008)
Genre: (sorry Mr Abbot), Also a minor OC, And were they so very different from us?, But he's just a plot device really, F/M, Features a very frustrated Maria, Hence the upped rating, Hormones are hormones, I don't do explicit, I will go down with this ship (after they've aged up a bit), Maria x Robin - Freeform, More modern social values and attitudes than Victorian ones, Rating is upped but its still fairly tame, Robin x Maria - Freeform, The De Noirs are definitely NOT very Victorian, The Secret of Moonacre was hardly a very historically accurate film anyway, The usual background characters, We write from our own times, With its fantasy and magic, but hey ho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:15:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23142289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awinterschild/pseuds/awinterschild
Summary: The only good thing Maria can say about the heatwave currently assailing Moonacre Valley it that at least is disguises her flushed cheeks and the decidedly non-friendly thoughts plaguing her. But between this, the De Noir dogging her footsteps and her abysmal lack of self-control all ruining her equanimity, something has got to give.(Or Maria returns from school and tries to fit back in at Moonacre. Her state of mind? Drumming Song)
Relationships: Maria Merryweather/Robin de Noir
Comments: 47
Kudos: 152





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been trying to write this ever since I started posting for this pairing. Getting the background woven in has been a nightmare, but this as good as I can get it I think. The result has made it quite texty and heavy going to read, especially at the beginning, but please persevere and give it a chance!

Maria had never considered that settling back in at her home at Moonacre Manor might not be as easy as she had always imagined. In the five years that she’d been away at school in London, it seemed a new equilibrium had been reached in her absence, and in returning, for good this time, she was trying very hard not to disrupt this. School, after all, was supposed to have taught her how to deal with situations like this. And she supposed it had, because she knew what she should do. It just wasn't what she _wanted_ to do...

It was this sort of warring with herself that had led her to be sent to school in the first place.

In the year following the five thousandth moon, Maria had adjusted very quickly to her new life in Moonacre Valley. This was rather impressive given it had turned out to be the period in her life in which she’d seen the most change. The biggest of these had of course been the death of her father, her initial uprooting from the city to the countryside and the whole business with the Moon Pearls. But then, straight afterwards, her uncle had married Loveday, so she’d acquired an eccentric new aunt who'd quickly become someone between a mother and a sister to her. She'd also gained by this event a far happier and contented uncle to the one she’d grown accustom upon her arrival. Sir Benjamin had still retained an outwards appearance of grumpiness, but this no longer stemmed from bitterness of heart, but because he now lived in a household he no longer had sole control of, being outnumbered, and most of the time overruled, by women.

Following Sir Benjamin and Loveday, Maria’s beloved Miss Heliotrope had also been married, and to her uncle’s sole male ally of the house, Digweed. _Mrs_ Digweed had thus found herself with new responsibilities as a married lady, and given how much she enjoyed bossing her new husband about (which he enjoyed just as much), she had found it necessary to take a step back as Maria’s sole educator and began to share the task with Sir Benjamin. He had introduced a variety of new subjects into Maria's education, taught her the responsibilities of her station as a Merryweather of Moonacre Manor, and, given the new Lady Merryweather's preference for the gardens and barefoot wanderings across the estate, involved her in the running of the household in her place.

No change, however, had been greater than the change of Maria herself. Gone was the uptight, somewhat spoilt and sheltered city girl she'd arrived as; the discovery of the Moonacre curse and adventures breaking it had seen to that, the things she had once regarded as important rapidly changing. Since the return of the Moon Pearls to the sea, Maria had accepted and grown into her role as the Moon Princess. Her free time had been spent roaming about the valley, sometimes astride Periwinkle (usually bareback in the dresses Loveday had continued to lay out for her), and other times on foot, accompanying Loveday as she drifted about the estate or exploring the forest with a certain other De Noir.

It had all felt entirely natural to Maria, the wildness growing within her heart part of her new role as the Moon Princess; but rumours about her had begun to fly in Silverydew. Upon reaching the ear of her Uncle, he had promptly decided she was to be sent off to school, infuriated by the audacity of those gossiping about her. By most, she was regarded as the bringer of prosperity to the valley and keeper of its peace, so this had in many ways been quite an overreaction. It was far more likely that her uncle had actually been more alarmed by talk of her _prospects_ , his niece now somewhere between girl and woman.

Either way, the decision to send her to school had been fixed. Maria had certainly not been happy about it, since it was not so long ago that her uncle had been insisting that her father ought never to have kept her _away_ from Moonacre; that as a Merryweather she belonged there. But her protestation and arguments had all been to no avail though; soon everyone within the Manor felt that was in her best interests to go, including, to her upmost surprise, Loveday, who had suggested it would be good for her to mix with other girls of her own age during her adolescence.

So it had been decided that she would go, to learn to balance herself as both as a young lady and as the Moon Princess. This had been a good theory in principle, but a problem lay in the word _balance_. This suggested the issue had merely been that she indulged one of these sides of herself more than the other. But in Maria's opinion, _battling,_ was a far more accurate description.

In London, away from the magic and moonlight, it had turned out far easier to let the ladylike side of herself win, as the opportunities for her wilder instincts were much more limited. That being said, Maria had still seemed to get into far more trouble than any of the other girls, finding school life very difficult to adjust to given the rigid routine she now had to follow, in contrast to the freedom she had become accustomed to at Moonacre. The formidably strict headmistress that ruled over the school had not made this transition any easier. But Maria had managed it, returning during the summer and winter breaks with the determined resolve to prove herself to her family and waiting for the day when she would be returning for good...

Which led her to her present dilemma.

When she had arrived back, a week ago, from her final year at school, she'd discovered that there was a house guest at Moonacre. Of course, if she'd had _known_ that, she'd never have thrown herself from the carriage in the manner she had and made such a spectacle of herself. But since she hadn’t, her excitement had overwhelmed her and she'd flung her arms around the neck of the closest person (her uncle, opening the carriage door) with a cry of delight.

It was only after this that the then slightly dishevelled Sir Benjamin had seen fit to inform her that the son of one of his friends from university was visiting, and introduced her to the slightly surprised young man standing just behind the family.

Despite thus failing her first test of ladylike behaviour, Mr Abbot hadn't seemed to mind what Mrs Digweed later termed her _enthusiastic_ arrival. Quite the opposite; he was pleasant and polite young man who seemed to immediately take a shine to her. Maria was, after all, a pretty young woman who everyone spoke highly of, and happened to be the niece of the man he was doing business with; it was only natural that he'd take an interest in her. And Maria hadn’t minded him at first. But presenting himself as _at her service_ at every opportunity was beginning to become _very_ tiresome. She'd been dreaming of the day she was to return to Moonacre, of spending time with her family and getting to know her two young cousins, exploring the woods and estate again...

But instead she was temporarily housebound with her time constantly monopolised by the attentions a well-meaning, but apparently oblivious, young man.

Signing, Maria reminded herself that this attitude was ungracious of her, since it wasn't Mr Abbot's fault she was only lately returned from school. Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop herself from still cursing inwardly when she spotted him walking through Loveday's heavenly gardens.

 _For heaven's sake_ , she had just wanted some time to herself, beneath her favourite apple tree, with her favourite book. She really didn't want to promenade around the grounds making polite conversation with him, which was what she was going to have to do, and which she knew she _should_ do, if Mr Abbot found her. And given the very wide, very flat expanse of lawn she had wandered across, bordered only distantly by the trees of the De Noir forest and virtually impossible not to be spotted on, this outcome was inevitable. She looked around despairingly, but there really was no-where she could escape to without first been seen...

Apart from one. If she desperate enough.

Which she was.

It only occurred to her after she'd climbed high enough into the apple tree that this was exactly the type of behaviour she was trying to avoid. If caught, Loveday would laugh, Uncle Benjamin would pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh in a world wearied way and Miss Heliotrope (Maria still had trouble calling her Mrs Digweed to herself) would splutter indignantly. She'd just have to pray she wouldn't be noticed by anyone, most particularly by Mr Abbot, who she could hear approaching.

Maria held her breath as he stopped at the base of the tree, trying to remain as still as she possibly could despite her precarious position. She could imagine him looking around, his blue eyes crinkled in confusion, blond hair flopping endearingly over his face...

_Oh please don’t look up and see me, please, please just go back to the house, I might be anywhere in there- _

"Oh, good day,” Mr Abbot called out. But he couldn’t be talking to her, could he? That definitely wasn’t something a gentleman would say upon seeing the young woman he was trying to court perched precariously in the leafy upper branches of a tree. _Was it?_

“I was just looking for Miss Merryweather. I could have sworn I’d seen her out this way and I was going to ask her if she wanted a walk in the gardens since it’s such a nice day…"

Although relieved that he clearly wasn’t speaking to her, Maria was still at a complete loss to whom Mr Abbot _was_ talking to. She hadn't seen anyone else around. The only person she knew with the annoying ability of appearing from thin air, usually by dropping from a tree, was-

"I’m sure she’d love that," a familiar voice drawled, "In fact I was talking to her not long ago in the library and she was telling me how that was the very thing she was hoping for. I’d have asked her myself but I always forget to give her my arm, which annoys her..."

 _Oh she was going to murder him_. Well, as soon as she was out of the tree she was. For now, Maria was forced to settle with biting her lip to stop from giving herself away. Mr Abbot, meanwhile, took the remark to be serious rather than sarcastic, no doubt unsurprised that a man wearing feathers and leather would forget to do something as gentlemanly as offering a lady his arm so she was able to successfully walk across a completely flat, dry surface without falling down.

"Oh,” he replied, frowning, “Well, perhaps she's still in there. Excuse me,"

Maria held her breath again, remaining as still as she could as Mr Abbot retreated back to the house. And then-

"You can come down now,” Robin called, “I’ve put him of the scent,"

Maria couldn't hold in her anger any longer. _"Put him off?"_ She repeated, her voice trembling. Yanking an apple from a nearby branch, she hurled it at him. "He's going to be insisting I take his arm all the time now! You did the absolute _opposite_ of putting him off!"

“Did I?" Robin asked, looking completely unconcerned by both her tone and the apple that had bounced off his bicep, "Well perhaps you should just do it yourself then,”

“You know full well I can’t do that," Maria retorted furiously, "It wouldn’t be-”

“- _Proper_? Oh and we both know you couldn't _possibly_ be impolite, don’t we?” He shot back, voice nothing but mocking. This only enraged Maria further, to a point beyond words. So she express herself non-verbally by throwing another apple at him. This time though, he caught it, and looking right up at her, took a bite out of it. Leaving her speechless for an entirely different reason.

“I mean, what's he supposed to think with all these mixed message you’re sending him?” He asked, crunching loudly on his mouthful of apple.

“You’re the one mixing my messages!” Maria managed to snap, trying to keep the waver out of her voice as he took another bite.

 _The nerve of him!_ He’d been making a mockery of herself and Mr Abbot the moment he’d met her uncle’s guest, the day after she'd got back. Immediately taking stock of the situation, a gleam had entered his eyes and he'd spent the entirety of the lunch Maria had been forced to invite him to dropping comments, designed to provoke her and sail straight over Mr Abbot's head. Rather than shoot back equally smart quips, all Maria's efforts had instead gone into repressing the desire to stab Robin in the leg with her fork, all the while ignoring the smirk on his face that indicated he knew _exactly_ what she wanted to do.

“All you need to do,” Robin told her, ignoring her last comment, “Is tell him to sod off, nice and clearly. That way, there’s no room for any misinterpretation,”

“I wish you’d sod off,” Maria snapped, trying to untangle her skirts from the gnarled branches so she could climb down.

“See isn’t it easy?”

"You make it easy!"

"But ironically, you don't actually mean it with me,"

"Oh I can assure you, _I do-_ " The words were hardly out of her mouth however when her foot slipped and there was a loud crack as the branch her weight suddenly dropped onto gave way. She felt a swooshing sensation in her stomach as she tumbled through the air-

\- Only to land straight into Robin's arms.

"No you don't," He replied slowly, his eyes fixed on hers, "Because where would you be without me to always rescue you?"

Maria couldn’t answer. Rendered temporarily speechless again, all she could do to stare at him, her mind still catching up with how she came to be only a hairsbreadth away from him.

Robin De Noir had always had the annoying ability to discompose her. She’d never really been sure how he felt about her: on the one hand, during her first year at Moonacre, she’d followed him about the forest and he hadn't seemed to mind, showing her secret and beautiful places in the trees and bantering with her. Even after she'd been sent to school, he'd made the effort to keep up this habit, despite the shortness of her visits home and his own decreasing free time.

But on the other hand, he'd always found her struggle to master herself, and her later determination to prove that she _could,_ during her brief spells home, extremely amusing. And apparently decided to make it his life's mission to make this even more difficult by provoking her into doing the opposite. Given how much he was always around, gradually taking on more responsibilities and consulting with her uncle on behalf of his father on matters of shared business between their two families, he'd been impossible to avoid. And as much as she had wanted to kill him sometimes for his infuriating tendency of continually popping up, practically dogging her footsteps to constantly poke fun at her new ladylike habits and tease her, it was difficult to resent him for this when he still also always made time to take into forest and visit the sea, things she ached with a vengeance for in London.

Maria had long known that his behaviour had only been half the problem though. A few years older than her, Robin had always been ahead of her, a young man before she'd become a young woman. Her prolonged absences, spent surrounded by whispering adolescent girls and a draconian headmistress, had very much woken her up to this fact. And during those midnight conversations between the girls in her dormitory about the feelings they were forbidden to indulge (and so naturally revered even more), the only person Maria could ever bring to mind was Robin: His broad shoulders and his strong jaw. Those dark, smouldering eyes...

At first, she blamed this on the fact that she didn’t know anyone else, hadn’t spent half as much time with any other boy as she had with Robin, so of course she would think of him. But that didn’t explain the blush in her cheeks whenever she did. Or the fact that she’d spent her second Christmas holiday home with her eyes lowered whenever he was around due to the fact that the rugged, stubbly, beard he grown (probably to keep his face warm over the exceptionally cold winter since he spent most of his time outside), was keeping her face just as warm because all she could think of when she saw it was how she wanted to run her fingers across his jaw and shivering at the thought of how rough it would feel against her skin…

Or the following summer, when she’d visited the De Noir castle with Loveday. She'd spent the duration of _that_ visit staring out of the window, not paying the slightest bit of attention to the conversation between Loveday and her father because she'd been too busy watching the group of De Noirs working below. Or rather, she’d singled out Robin, his dark shirt clinging to him in the heat of the day, and following only him with her eyes, wondered idly if he could lift _her_ as easily as the logs he was hauling about on his shoulders...

Well it turned out that he could. Had she still been at school, the feeling of his arms around her and the way he'd instinctually caught her would very definitely be something that her mind strayed too during her headmistress's lectures on the sinfulness of lust and passion in a young lady...

But she wasn't.

“Put me down,” Maria eventually managed to say. When Robin only raised his eyebrows, she was forced to add “ _Please_ ,” in a slightly more civil tone. This had the desired effect and Maria hastily stepped backward as soon as she could, a shiver of _something_ running through her. Her feeling of breathlessness did not last long, however, as sweeping his eyes over her, Robin smirked.

“Oh dear, what _will_ Mrs Digweed say?" He tutted, "But then, maybe such a messy, _unladylike_ sight will put off your Mr Abbot,”

“He’s not _my_ -” But Maria stopped, biting her tongue since it was pointless to continue. Instead, with as much dignity as she could muster given the gigantic rip along her skirt, ruined hair and scuffed bodice, she turned on her heel and strode away back to the house.

When she reached the entrance hall, she was met by Digweed, whose eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight of her. "Err, Mr Abbot was looking for you Miss," He informed her when he overcame his bewilderment.

"Was he?" Maria replied with as much indifference as she could summon, "Well please tell him I'm indisposed if he should ask again,"

"Very good Miss," Digweed replied, "And I'll tell Mrs Digweed the same shall I? In about ten minutes?"

"Thank you Digweed," She said gratefully, heading towards the stairs to make the most of this head start to making herself respectable again.

The crunch of an apple sounded from behind her, causing Maria to stumble as she reached the first step. Momentarily closing her eyes, she ignored it, continuing on and refusing to look round for she had no desire to see the laughter in Robin’s eyes as they followed her upstairs until she was out of sight.

*

Mr Abbot left two days later, but not without dropping several hints to Maria that he was intending to return as soon as he was able. Maria gave polite, but deliberately vague answers in response which somehow still seemed to please him. Despite this, and the threat of his return, Maria was able to finally breathe a sigh of relief after his departure, feeling that she was no longer at risk of constant incidents of impropriety. Grateful that her time was her own again, she spent the following few days entirely devoted to her two young cousins: her four year old nephew George and one year old niece Eliza, names which had both been chosen in honour of Maria's parents.

By the end of the third day, while Loveday was clearly very grateful to Maria for the slight reprieve she was providing her with from her children, Maria herself was exhausted. Eliza had wailed every time Maria had attempted to put her down in her cot, stubbornly fighting the sleep she so desperately needed and George had been hanging off her skirts the entire afternoon, insisting they play this game and that game, and when it was time for bed, had thrown a tantrum at not being allowed to come to dinner with Maria and his parents. A compromise had eventually been reached for Maria to read him a bed time story, although she'd had to read this story three times before he'd finally fallen asleep.

Maria thus hadn't had the time to tame her now very frizzy hair, or change into a dress that wasn't covered in George's mucky hand prints (jam, paint and mud all from various parts of the day) and seating herself at the dining table, had been surprised to see Robin there too. Maria hadn’t seen him all day, but assumed that he'd probably been so long in discussion with her uncle on business matters that naturally he'd been invited to dinner. Her uncle himself was too engrossed in continuing these discussions to take notice of Maria's dishevelled appearance, a fact for which she was very thankful and as her former governess had only joined the family for breakfast since she'd been married, Maria was safe from being reprimanded by her as well.

Loveday, understanding only too well the effect her two children had after a day spent with them, simply poured Maria a large glass of wine.

Since it was the first break Maria had had all day, she wasn't feeling particularly inclined to participate in the discussion at the table. The best way to manage the estate's timber stocks wasn't a topic that interested her much anyway, and as a result, her attention quickly drifted away from the discussion, unconsciously flitting to more inconsequential and pleasing matters.

It wasn't until the third course that she was abruptly pulled back to the present by her uncle directing a question to her. Wrenched from her absentminded musings with all eyes now on her, she promptly knocked over her goblet in embarrassment and there was a brief moment of silence as everyone watched the red wine slowly spread across the white table cloth.

"Heavens Maria,” Loveday exclaimed, breaking the shocked silence, “You were a million miles away! What were you thinking of?"

This second question only served to make Maria flush even more, since her _preoccupation_ at that particular moment had in fact been the expanse of Robin's chest visible through the open neck if his shirt. But trailing her fingers down what she suspected were the very well defined pectorals of the young man sitting opposite her were _not_ thoughts she cared to share with anyone, let announce at the dinner table.

The said young man was looking at her expectantly with his eyebrows raised and she sent a quick prayer of thanks to the heavens that she hadn't _actually_ been caught staring at his chest. _Small mercies._

"Nothing of consequence," Maria hastily answered, righting her goblet and praying that the subject would drop before she caught fire from the heat still flooding her cheeks.

As her cup was refilled, she couldn’t help but think the contents would be of better use thrown over her as she tried to ignore the lazy smirk Robin was watching her with. But to her relief, her prayers were answered and the matter was not pursued. Not until they retired from the table and Robin immediately sought her out, anyway.

"I can understand what you'd daydream about in London," He remarked, catching up with her where she was stood by an open window, trying to remain cool in the sticky heat of the summer evening, "But now you’re back here, what could _possibly_ make your attention wander so much?"

"You just can't let things go, can you?" Maria accused, scowling at him.

"Well it must have been interesting given how much you were blushing," He commented, brown eyes boring into hers with that tell-tale (and irritatingly attractive) smirk of his dancing across his lips, “Although what a _proper_ young lady like you must have been thinking to make her so red-”

"I was blushing because I was suddenly the centre of attention!" Maria cut in. Annoyingly, she could feel herself flushing red _again_ , but at least this time she could put it down to irritation. Mostly. _For heaven’s sake_ , was it really necessary for him to stand quite so close? He was quite literally towering over her, forcing her to look up into his face since she was determined to avoid looking at his chest again.

And really, why couldn’t he wear shirt that actually buttoned up properly? It was all the more noticeable tonight as the persistent summer’s heat, climbing higher and higher each day, had led to him temporarily abandoning his scarf and feathers, so there was a good deal more visible to draw the eye than usual. Hence her ill-timed trail of thoughts at the dinner table. But warm or not, the heat was hardly an excuse for him to parade about improperly dressed. How should he like it if she went around with her dress gaping open? What sort of message would that send out? Very much the wrong one. Or perhaps the sort that would lead to him pulling her into the shadows of a secluded corner and ripping it off entirely-

"Well you're not the centre of attention now and you're glowing brighter than the moon again," Robin remarked, "So what was it? Or maybe it's a _who_? Some London gentleman perhaps? How many Mr Abbots do you-"

"It’s none of your _damned_ business Robin so why don’t you just-"

"Maria!" Loveday exclaimed, having overheard her swearing from a few feet away.

"Oh, you’re always getting me into trouble!" Maria hissed angrily as her aunt approached them.

Loveday frowned even more when she caught sight of Maria's, once again, heightened colour. Although she looked concerned, her tone was firm when she spoke. "Perhaps you should retire early Maria. It’s not like you to use such language and you look flushed,"

Maria inhaled sharply, suppressing she urge to swear _again_ as a different sort of frustration boiled up within her. Far be it from her, _a grown young woman_ , to decide for _herself_ when she wanted to go to bed. She was fed up of others always dictating her routine to her-

But catching sight of her uncle watching the scene, Maria managed to master herself. "You're right Loveday," She agreed in a tone of forced civility, and looking back at Robin, very politely added "Goodnight Robin,"

She turned to leave, missing the flash disappointment and annoyance in Robin's eyes by seconds. Before she could withdraw any further though, he caught her hand. She glanced up in surprise as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles, eyes remaining fixed hers. The usual gleam was still there, but it seemed different somehow, perhaps because of the absence of his usual trademark smirk.

"Sweet dreams Princess," He murmured, his breath ghosting over her skin.

Feeling slightly dazed, Maria withdraw her hand from his and tripped from the room, hurrying upstairs and to the safe haven of her tower room.

*

The burn of Robin’s lips on her skin had certainly not made for _sweet dreams_. Although the gesture had gone a long way to soothing some of Maria's frustrations (mainly her embarrassment at being dismissed to bed like a young girl), it had sent a whirling cascade of other emotions through her. The temperature had not dropped much overnight either, making for a very restless night spend tossing a turning as Maria tried to ignore both the cloying heat from the sticky summer night and her own thoughts.

She was not feeling particularly well rested when the morning finally dawned. Awoken by a knock at her door, Maria sat up, pushing her damp curls from her forehead.

“I see you haven’t slept well either," Loveday observed as she stepped though the tiny door into Maria's room, "This awful heat kept me awake all night too,”

At this, Maria couldn’t help but look at her aunt slightly resentfully, for Loveday's elegant beauty seemed very much to contradict this comment.

Loveday noticed nothing though. "I thought you might prefer a lighter breakfast,” she carried on, gliding over with a tray bearing a bowl of fruit and glass of orange juice.

“Thank you,” Maria said gratefully, sitting upright to receive it. Loveday perched on the side of her bed, watching her niece affectionately as she tucked into the fruit.

“Maria, I want to apologise,” She eventually said.

Maria glanced up in surprise. “For what?”

Loveday sighed. “Last night. I acted like the over bearing aunt I swore to myself I would never be. It's just… I’m afraid that I still look at you and think of the girl you were before you went to school,” She paused, taking Maria’s hand in her own, “But you’re not, you’re a young woman now. Just because you grew up out of our sight doesn’t mean we can pretend you haven’t…” Loveday trailed off, looking slightly sad before gathering herself and smiling guiltily, “The last thing I want is to be like that awful headmistress you were always writing to me about!”

Maria returned her smile with a laugh. “I don’t think anyone could be as bad as _her_ ,”

Loveday’s smile grew. “Well, even if that’s true, I’m still sorry, and wanted to say so. Robin was very angry with me about it last night after you left-”

Maria choked on the sip of orange juice she’d taken. “ _Robin_?” she spluttered.

“Yes, of course," Loveday peered at her with an expression Maria wasn’t sure she liked, "Well, he’s always looked out for you hasn’t he?”

“I-yes, I suppose he has,” Maria stammered.

But there was no _supposing_ about it. Even when she'd been in London, he’d done just that.The example that immediately sprung into her mind was when she had first started school; naturally she'd found it very difficult to adjust to at first. But if she, or anyone else, had thought her first term would be the hardest, they had _all_ been wrong. It had been nothing compared to how it felt returning after the short break back at Moonacre over Christmas. A taste of her beloved Moonacre life, and her family, which she had learnt was soon to grow, had left her so utterly bereft and miserable that unable to summon the will to write any falsely cheerful letters to Loveday, she had ended up not writing at all, absolutely forbidding herself to write anything that might have worried her aunt given her pregnancy.

After a few weeks, her unhappiness had been noticed by her teachers, and her headmistress had given her permission to leave the school briefly to visit her parents’ grave stones, along with a few other girls. The grey colourless cityscape that Maria had passed through had only intensified the yearning within her to such a height that she had hardly been able to bear it; she'd longed for the roar of the sea, the freedom of the forests, the vibrant colours and the magic that infused every corner of her beloved Moonacre Valley...

Leaving a single rose on each of her parent’s headstones, Maria hadn’t lingered. The cold stones had offered her little comfort or sense of peace and she hadn't expected them to. Instead, her feet had led her without conscious thought to the folly within the cemetery, sparking the memory of the dark and mysterious figure she had glimpsed there for the first time only a couple of years ago. As she'd approached, her eyes had spotted a tiny, but very bright, spot of colour amongst the dark green ivy climbing one of the arches. Approaching this for a closer look, she had plucked a single feather from the overgrown leaves, discovering the colour that had drawn her eye had been a bright blue ribbon, very similar to one of her own, and tying a tiny scroll of paper to its stem. Scrawled untidily across it had been a single line:

_A piece of home for you Princess. Remember, it can't be as bad as our dungeons._

Suddenly feeling immeasurably cheerful again, Maria had returned to school and straight away penned a very long letter Loveday. In her reply, Loveday had written how glad she'd been to hear from her and that she'd been so diverted by Maria’s description of how admirably well-designed she had noticed the De Noir dungeons to be during her short imprisonment there (although she felt her headmistress would make a far better Prison Master than the current man), that she had repeated it to Coeur De Noir. He had been equally bemused, and it had even seemed to raise Robin's spirits, despite the trouble he’d been in at the time with their father for disappearing for several days and refusing explain where he’d been.

“My brother has become very handsome, don’t you think?” Loveday remarked in a casual voice, jolting Maria back to the present. Her aunt's eyes were alight with the very same gleam of mischief that was so often in her brother's and it struck Maria in that moment how they were exactly the same shape and colour as Robin's.

“Don’t tell him that, his head is big enough as it is,” She replied, refocussing her attention on her breakfast.

Loveday, however, didn’t miss her deflection of the question, or the blush in her cheeks “Maria, I know you and Robin have always been close, but if there’s anything you feel you can’t to talk to _him_ about, I hope you know you can always come to _me_ ,”

Maria choked on her fruit. “Of course there’s nothing- Robin and I- He just...and I- _oh_ , he just makes me _so_ -”

Loveday raised her eyebrows at the look of panicked frustration flashing across her niece’s face and was unable to stop herself from laughing.

“Oh Maria! How well I remember what it is to be young!” She leant forward to affectionately kiss her niece’s cheek, “I absolutely promise I won’t forget it again,”

And leaving Maria blushing furiously, Loveday swept from the room, a knowing smile playing across her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you made it! Phew, the first chapter of my first multi-chapter story. Well mini-series. It's only planned to be three chapters long. The next chapter is almost done (just the last bit to finish although it's proving difficult) but the majority of the last chapter still needs writing. The original plan was to write the whole thing before I posted it, but my commute to work has now changed and is much shorter, which has cut down my time for writing. So its probably going to be a while before I post anything again. This chapter has been finished for a while, so I thought I might as well put it up in light of my change of circumstances. And if I'm honest, I've been working so long on this story, now, on and off, that I could really do with some feedback. Some constructive criticism would be very welcome!
> 
> On another note, I wasn't sure if I needed to up the rating or not, so did it just to be sure. Also I'm not a historian and I know nothing about Victorian Ladies Schools; hopefully I haven't annoyed anyone with my ignorance by misrepresenting it here!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who continues to read, leave kudos, bookmark and comment on my stories! Its really gratifying to know people are out there reading and enjoying them. I'd like to give an especially big thank you to Dreamingdreams for commenting on each and everyone of them as well! It was so hugely motivational and left me with the biggest smile on my face! 
> 
> Thanks for reading this one, and until next time (whenever that may be)!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only good thing Maria can say about the heatwave currently assailing Moonacre Valley it that at least is disguises her flushed cheeks and the decidedly non-friendly thoughts plaguing her. But between this, the De Noir dogging her footsteps and her abysmal lack of self-control all ruining her equanimity, something has got to give.
> 
> (Or Maria returns from school and tries to fit back in at Moonacre. Her state of mind? Drumming Song)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, things have really escalated since I posted the last chapter! Sincerely hoping that everyone is keeping safe and well!

The heat only climbed more and more in the following days to come. The sweltering and inescapable humidity sapped the strength, will and temper of everyone to do anything other than try and find some reprieve. It proved to be enough to keep any visitors from Moonacre Manor at bay, including the unshakable Mr Abbot and a certain curly haired bird-boy.While Maria found the absence of the former a relief, she found that of the latter irritating, it only making her more restless. Robin may have spent most of his time trying to provoke her into unladylike fits of temper, but she'd begun to get used to his near constant presence.

The reason for his absence, she supposed rather resentfully, was that the thick walls of the De Noir castle must've offered some advantages for staying cool in the face of the unrelenting sun. The many large windows of the manor house, on the other hand, were having the opposite effect, turning it into a giant greenhouse. Spending time outside didn't seem to make much difference and matters certainly weren't helped by the layers of clothes that Maria was required to wear. She chose the lightest dresses she owned in fabric and colour (staying well away from the dark heavy velvets and brocades of the many dresses Loveday had given her), but her stiff, unyielding, _torturous_ corset seemed to cancel out any advantages these dresses might have offered.

By the time a week had passed, Maria held said corset entirely responsible for each and every discomfort and frustration she was suffering from. Since setting the damn thing alight would only increase the ambient temperature (if that were possible), she resorted to simply flinging it across the room in disgust one morning, dressing herself for that day without it. Indeed, half the morning went by without anyone any the wiser to this fact, as after all, it had hardly altered her figure that much to begin with. She'd always been slim and no matter how much she seemed to eat, her body refused to grow any further upwards or outwards.

But Maria hadn't counted on her dear Miss Heliotrope.

She ran into her just as she was leaving the library, a room that had become Maria's refuge for the first few hours of the day as it was slightly less warm than the rest of the house for this time. A greeting for her former guardian was on the tip of her tongue, but the words died on her lips as Miss Heliotrope's eyes swept over her figure. Maria was at an absolute loss as to _how_ she could possibly have realised she was lacking her corset, but notice Miss Heliotrope did and there was a split second as her eyes widened-

And then Maria received the scolding of her life. Most definitely not the sort that she mouthed along with or she could tune out, but the sort that made Maria wince as Miss Heliotrope's voice grew shriller and shriller until surely only bats could hear her. She silently prayed that there was no-one else within earshot to hear her being so thoroughly berated for her _utter lack of propriety and decorum_ , but unfortunately, this time, her prayers went unanswered. Down the hall, Maria's uncle's study door opened, and to her absolute horror, and then utter _mortification_ , her uncle stepped out, _follow by Robin_.

Maria loved Miss Heliotrope, she really, truly did. But at that moment she could have strangled her.

"Mrs Digweed!" Sir Benjamin shouted over the top of her, "Please, dear woman, _compose yourself_!"

It took several moment for Mrs Digweed to do so, her shrieks eventually sub-siding into indignant stutters. Only then did Sir Benjamin turn to his niece.

"Maria," He stated in a tone of _would-be-calm,_ "I understand that these are exceptional circumstances, but perhaps you ought to contain yourself to you own quarters until such a time as you are able to dress yourself properly,"

His patience had clearly already been sorely tried by his butler's wife's screeching, so Maria knew it would best not to argue and forced herself to school her features into an expression that did not reflect her true ( _murderous_ ) inner feelings. Robin, on the other hand, looked as if all his Christmases had come early. She could see him biting his lip in the effort to contain his mirth. Glowering at him as she passed had absolutely no effect whatsoever; he simply met her glare with a smirk, eyes shining with the promise that she was never going to hear the end of this from him.

As soon as she was out of sight, Maria stormed the rest of the way up to her room, fuming at the injustice of it all. _It wasn't fair._ Until _she_ could dress herself properly? And what about her uncle? It was apparently _fine_ for him to abandon his waistcoat, collar and surgeon, while she apparently wasn't allowed to abandon any of her layers which weren't even _visible_! And Robin-

No. She wouldn't think about Robin and his state of dress- she'd already been there and embarrassed herself on that front. Neither would she think about the way his dark eyes had raked down her figure after Miss Heliotrope had drawn so much attention to it, nor about that _insufferable_ smirk he'd given her and the ways she could knock it off his devilishly handsome face. And she most certainly wouldn't think about achieving this by yanking him downwards by those thick curls of his and making him put those lips better use than smirking-

Reaching the safety of her bedroom, Maria slammed the door behind herself and let out a scream of indignation and frustration.

 _Fair_ , she supposed, just didn't enter into it. 

*

Not wanting to risk running into Robin again, Maria stayed in her room for the rest of the day. Her hopes of slipping out of her secret door and into the fractionally cooler forest were foiled by Miss Heliotrope's periodic checks, during which Maria was treated each time to a lecture on the importance of dressing properly. What sort of impression did she want to give of herself? What if there had been _guests_?

Maria managed to keep her tongue to herself, mainly because she was too hot and bothered to summon the energy argue. She did notice that Robin was absent from featuring in these lectures though; either Miss Heliotrope hadn't noticed him in her dismay over Maria's unsupported figure, or she simply didn't regard Robin as a guest. Maria suspected the former, as although Miss Heliotrope never had quite seemed to reconcile herself to Robin's relationship with her and the rest of the Merryweathers, either as family or Maria's friend (and regarded him, along with the rest of the De Noir as some sort of exception to society), she doubted that Mrs Digweed would have been able to pass up the opportunity to use him as a means of scolding her. And if she had, Maria anticipated that the argument would have been that he would tell all his friends, and they, in turn would tell other people, until word had spread across the whole valley that she had paraded about in nothing but her chemise and pantaloons…

Since the whole of the De Noir clan had already seen her running through their streets in her only undergarments long ago, the true story that she'd actually just been lacking one of her under layers was unlikely to interest them even half as much. And although Maria would never repeat such a spectacle again, the De Noirs had never found that first instance as shocking as the rest of society would anyway. While they still laughed and joked about it, they were rather proud of her for it, now the feud was over and her escape was less of a blow to their pride. In fact, she knew that if anyone else outside the clan ever mentioned it to them, or suggested that her behaviour had tainted her honour in some way… well whoever it was would probably be unwilling to make such comments again, for it would be her honour they would defend.

The De Noirs' perspectives and attitudes to honour and propriety were very different, and as Maria had come to learn these and understand them better, she had found that she really rather preferred them. For on the one hand was a society who would regard her reputation as ruined for acting in such a fashion and shun her for escaping imprisonment by a group of potentially murderous people in such a manner. And on the other was that same group of potentially murderous people who found her manner of escape impressive, daring and worthy of respect because it had _worked_ , and she had bested them, unorthodox methods or not.

That all being said, Maria knew that Robin would still hound her until her dying day about this new unladylike hiccup of hers. Heatwave or not, he would be back the following day with the express purpose of pursuing the subject simply because it was the opposite of the sort of behaviour she was trying to aspire to. She had no intention of giving him this satisfaction, however, so after making an appearance at breakfast (where she took only a piece of fruit since her real purpose there was only to display to Miss Heliotrope that she was wearing each and very layer of clothing she was supposed to), she slipped back up to her tower, along the secret passage behind her fireplace, and emerged out into the forest.

Maria hadn't expected it to be much cooler, even in the shade of the trees. And she was right; the air was just as still, thick and heavy as it was everywhere else in the valley. Resolving to ignore it as best she could (since it was only going to get worse as the sun climbed higher in the sky), Maria adjusted her skirts and started off.

She had learnt in her first year at Moonacre to navigate the forest by its streams, taught by Robin to follow them to learn the layout of forest and always to stick to them if she was ever out without him so she wouldn't get lost. But she trusted in the waters for reasons beyond her trust in Robin and his advice. So close to the sea, all the streams of the forest eventually made their way to it, over the land and under it, and the sea called to her. It was in her soul and its guiding voice always took her to where she was supposed to be.

There was only one place Maria wanted to be today though; it was one of the first places Robin had taken her to, following the breaking of the curse, and among her favourites of the many places he had shown her. Reaching a large mossy boulder, she turned away from the stream and onto an overgrown path. It curved away from the stream for some distance before swinging its way back towards it, sloping gradually downhill and following a gentler contour than if she had stuck to the stream. Eventually, the treeline broke and she was back at its bank. The stream had become considerable larger, and just upstream was the place she was looking for; a sheer rock face, covered in bright green mosses and paler lichens, which slowly gave way to a dark rock towards its centre where a cascade of water tumbled over its edge and into a wide plunge pool.

Letting the noise of the waterfall wash over her, Maria breathed in deeply. Its roar was much quieter than usual, the volume of water rushing over the edge of the cliff much smaller and less hurried given the long duration of hot, dry weather. The pool at its base was also much less turbulent and probably perfect for swimming. Maria would be happy just pulling up her skirts, taking off her shoes and stocking and cooling her legs from the bank, to _finally_ get some peace, being able to fully relax…

The tranquillity of the scene was broken when a figure abruptly dropped from the closest tree. Maria let out a cry of surprise, but of course it was only-

" _Robin_!" She let out a breath, her shock subsiding. "What are you doing here?" She demanded as frustration quickly took its place; she had come here to _avoid_ him, fully expecting him to go at the manor today and make a fool of her _there!_

Robin smirked that maddeningly attractive smirk of his before lazily answering. "Why, waiting for you of course Princess,"

Maria shook her head impatiently. "But how did you know I'd-"

"Because I know _you_ ," He broke in, "But before you go anywhere else, I should ask, are you properly dressed now? I mean have you _at least_ you got your corset on this time?"

"Oh, _get lost_ Robin!" Maria snapped. Two minutes, it hadn't been even _two minutes_ before he had brought it up-

"Well that wasn't ladylike was it?" He commented, "What was it your governess was saying yesterday? ' _All those years, all those lessons, wasted-_ '"

He was abruptly cut off as Maria shoved him with every bit of strength she possessed. He topped straight over the edge of the bank and into the deep pool, a rather surprising outcome neither of them had expected given Maria's small stature. He resurfaced within moments, but to Maria's immense irritation, didn't look the slightest bit annoyed; quite the opposite in fact, amusement and laughter plastered across his face.

"Oh, you really bring out the worst in me!" Maria accused. The wave of anger that had filled her receded to leave annoyance directed more at herself than at him. _Really_ , why couldn't she exert _any_ sort of control over herself around him?

"No I don't," Robin disagreed, wading forward and pushing his now sopping wet hair out of his eyes, "I bring out _you_ ,"

This remark affronted Maria since she wasn't naturally a violent, irritable or impatient person- Well, perhaps she was a bit impatient. But then it struck her that she _was_ impulsive around him. She always ended up acting without thinking rather than assessing the propriety of her actions like she'd trained herself to do. So perhaps he was right…

Robin had hoisted himself out of the pool to sit on the bank and unlace his now soaking wet boots. After removing them, and then his equally wet socks, Maria was jolted from her thoughts by a shower of water droplets as he dived back into the pool, flicking his sodden curls out of his eyes when he resurfaced again.

"It's lovely and cool in here," He goaded, effortlessly treading water. Oh _why_ did he have to be so damned good at _everything_? How did he manage to turn every situation around and make _her_ into the loser?

He pulled his shirt over his head and threw it onto the bank beside his boots where it was likely to dry in a matter of minutes. Maria dug her nails into her palms, trying to keep her eyes well above the water line.

"I can't just… strip down, like you," She managed to grind out, pushing away the proof before her eyes that her suspicions from that night at the dining table had been entirely correct.

"Yes you can. I've seen you in your undergarments before..." Robin raised a suggestive eyebrow, "Unless you've left _those_ off with your corset as well,"

Maria's temper flared. "You're _insufferable_ , you know that?" She snapped. Robin rolled his eyes, preparing to push himself back from the bank.

"Well, suit yourself. Sit there and bake in the sun if you'd prefer…"

He swam away and Maria sat down on the bank and did exactly that. But, she consoled herself, at least she now had a view of his shirtless back as well as his front, and could admire those powerful shoulders as he effortlessly cut through the water. Would they ripple beneath her fingers in the same way?

Completely distracted from her irritation, Maria leaned backwards until she was lying on her back, closing her eyes against the bright sun and letting her thoughts carry her away. It would be so _easy_ to do what he's said, to strip down to her shift and dive into the pool; the water would be so very _cool_. It would soak into her long braid, unwinding it so her copper curls cascaded around her and so starkly contrasted with her white chemise. And then, when he took in the sight of her, perhaps it would be Robin's eyes that darkened with desire as well as her own as they met in the water... She'd wrap her legs around him and there would be hardly anything between them, just her thin white chemise, clinging so tightly to her like a second skin, hardly a barrier at all to feeling his hands, so rough and calloused from his years of labour in the forest, running around her waist and up her back. Her own would be sliding up to grip those broad shoulders of his as she tilted her head back so his lips could roam slowly upwards along her throat until finally, _finally_ , they met her own and-

"Princess. _Princess_!"

Unaware that she must have dozed off into a state of waking dreams, Maria opened her eyes in a haze of confused disorientation and was confronted with the sight of a concerned looking Robin, crouched beside her, still bare chested and _dripping_ with water.

Was she still day dreaming? Oh she _hoped_ that she was. That way she could let her fingers take the same path of the droplet rolling down his broad chest-

"If you're going to fall asleep," Robin informed her, shattering her hopes, "At least do it in the shade," Peering into her eyes and possibly confusing the dazed, glassy look there with heat exposure, he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.

"I'm fine," Maria insisted, hastily pulling away from his touch because that was absolutely the very _last_ thing she needed at that moment. _I will keep my hands to myself. I will keep my hands to myself. I will keep my hands to myself_-

"You need to move into the shade," Robin instructed, moving towards her.

"I do _not_ need picking up!" She cried, immediately scooting sideways out of his reach and at the same time beating away the voice in her head telling her _for god's sake to let him_ , so long as it was to take her to a tree in the shade and _pin_ _her to it_ , help her cool down by running his lips down the length of her neck as he unbuttoned her bodice-

God above, _what was wrong with her?_ It was entirely too hot for this state of mind. And she was a young lady. Young ladies were _not_ supposed to think like that at all, especially not regarding people who were practically family, even if they were devastatingly attractive, impossibly strong, frustratingly arrogant and unswervingly protective-

Maria hurriedly scrambled to her feet, retreating to the shade before Robin caught sight of her once again glowing cheeks. This said shade offered very little reprieve from the fierce heat beating down from the sky and she cursed inwardly as she lowered herself into a spot between the gnarled roots of a willow tree. When would this infernal heat _end_? And when would she get a grip of her equally intense, seemingly uncontrollable thoughts? Was she _ever_ going be able to restore her equanimity?

Robin followed shortly afterwards, and to Maria's immense relief (and even greater disappointment), she saw he'd replaced his shirt. She couldn't help but also notice, that since he was still damp, it was clinging to his torso in a very interesting sort of way though. He knelt down in front of her again and she watched as a droplet of water rolled down the column of his throat, then down his chest before disappearing below the open neck of his shirt.

Luckily, Robin was too preoccupied opening his water skin to catch her eyeing him so very closely. "Drink all of this before you go anywhere else," he ordered, passing his water skin to her, "But make sure you _sip_ it,"

Bossiness was not something Maria usually put up with from him and she usually gave as good as she got. But on this subject, in these circumstances, she couldn't surpass his knowledge or experience of the great outdoors. Not to mention, when he had that determined, protective gleam in his eye, when he was _looking after her_ , she actually rather liked it. So, for once, she obediently followed his instructions, still mostly preoccupied with the water droplets running down his skin and wondering, since it seemed to be so important to him, whether attaching her lips to his neck would also be a suitable method of re-hydrating-

 _Heaven help her_. But she was probably beyond even that now.

When Robin was satisfied she'd drunk half of the water, he sat down next to her, somehow managing look as if he hadn't noticed the sweltering summer's heat at all. Maria, meanwhile, felt the complete opposite. The water hadn't done a thing to cool her down and she was now redirecting all of her efforts into staying absolutely still so as to not make herself any warmer, something easier, it turned out, than trying to keep her mind utterly blank from inappropriate thoughts.

Noticing her unnatural stillness, Robin glanced sideways at her. "For god's sake Maria, you don't need to be so uptight around _me_. Your uncle was right, these are exceptional circumstances. Just undo a few buttons or something and let yourself actually _breathe_ ,"

Opening her eyes, Maria was unable to summon the will to do little more than narrow them scornfully at him. "So you can tell Miss Heliotrope and get a good laugh out of it you mean?"

Robin rolled his eyes. "I won't tell, I promise. I'd really rather not have to carry you back to Moonacre in this heat when you inevitably otherwise pass out,"

Maria continued looking at him, suspicions aroused by the fact he actually sounded serious rather than mocking or teasing for once. But he wasn't even looking at her; his eyes were closed and he was leaning his head back against the tree. This happened to give her a full, uninterrupted view of his profile; his strong jawline, the column of his throat, the hint of stubble creeping upwards…

Maria let out a breath and gave in because something _had_ to give and she really didn't want it to be her self-control. Fumbling to unbuttoned the high neck of her dress, she pushed the fabric aside, trying to get as much air to her neck as she could. It was wasn't enough though, and she fiddled impatiently with the layers beneath.

Preoccupied, she didn't notice Robin cracking an eye open when she muttered a curse under her breath.

"Robin!" she cried out in surprised indignance when he abruptly lunged, shoving the neck of the dress aside himself. She flushed further more when she realised _what_ it was that had caught his attention.

For around her neck, Maria wore a long, delicate chain, one of the few things she'd inherited from her mother. And hung from it was a feather, the very same one that Robin had left her in London those few years ago, something she'd worn concealed beneath her dresses ever since. She'd kept the note too, still tied with her ribbon, but that remained in her jewellery box. It only occurred to her now, as Robin pulled the feather free from its place and stared at it, that perhaps this had been rather presumptuous of her. She was sure after all that it was one of the smaller feathers that he wore about his own neck. And wasn't that what lovers did; give each other tokens and keep them close?

Maria couldn't see Robin's face properly to read his reaction; he was staring down at the feather lying innocently across his fingers. But pulled forward by the chain, she was close enough to count every single eyelash of his down turned eyes. She hastily tore her glaze away, looking down to the feather as well, just in time to catch him running his thumb lightly down its spine. Despite the blazing heat of the sun above them, the action sent a shiver racing down her own. _Oh_ , how she wanted his fingertips to glide down her own spine in that same way, as if reacquainting themselves with something familiar...

Robin glanced up at her slight intake of breath. There was a strange, unreadable look in his eyes and it held her frozen in place. Her voice had deserted her but her thoughts whirled. Didn't he know how much how much that feather had meant to her? But then how could he? She had never told him. Never told him how comforting it had been to know that he had been in London, that he had been thinking of her. That he had understood.

 _A piece of home for you Princess_.

And a piece of _him_. Returning to school that first time had made her realise how much she'd missed him. But finding that feather had made her realise how much she loved him too.

"Maria..." Robin's voice sounded rough, low, barely a whisper and completely devoid of all teasing again but so very differently this time. That gleam in his eye flared so intensely, she couldn't look away and she wasn't sure if she was imagining it, close as they were already, but was it her suddenly leaning in or was him?

" _OI!_ "

The shout cut through the trees like a bullet, so suddenly and so explosively it instantly shattered the peace and tension surrounding them. Maria shot backwards, both her and Robin's heads snapping up as figures emerged from the trees downstream. She hurriedly yanked the feather from Robin's grasp and tucked it away, recognising three as Robin's friends and the rest as several much younger boys accompanying them.

"There you are!" Richard hollered again, eyes fixed on Robin and looking annoyed as he broke away to stride towards him, "Should have known you'd be off shirking your responsibilities, _again_!"

"Sod off Richard," Robin fired back, glaring at him.

"Well, as _nice_ as it must be for you to take another little break," Richard scoffed back sarcastically, "We're fed up covering for you, so start pulling your weight!" He nodded towards Henry, David and the boys over at the river bank, "Those little toerags have been driving us mad and it's _your_ fault since you're the one who promised to teach them to swim!"

"They can't swim?" Maria spoke up, alarmed since David appeared to be tossing two of the boys headlong into the pool.

"Nope, not even slightly," Richard answered, sounding completely unconcerned and dropping down into the shade next to her. Maria turned her gaze to Robin but he was already on his feet, and with a last glare at Richard, hastily making his way to the bank where David was throwing the last two boys into the water.

Maria looked back round to Richard in complete disbelief.

"What?" He demanded.

"Shouldn't you go and _help_?" She suggested.

"Why? Robin's the teacher. He taught you to swim didn't he?" Pulling off his hat, Richard pushed his hair back with an air of total indifference.

"Not by throwing me into a pool he didn't!" Maria exclaimed.

"Well you'd already jumped off a cliff into the sea," He replied dismissively.

Maria closed her eyes and gave a tiny shake of her head. "What an _earth_ has that got to do with learning how to swim?"

"Getting into the water for the first time is the hardest part," Richard elaborated slowly, as if this were the most obvious explanation in the world, "So obviously, it's best just to get it over with and take the plunge,"

"And throwing them into the water and putting the fear of _death_ into them is the best way to go about it?" Maria questioned. She shook her head again, "Well in that case, why not just _throw_ them in from the top of the waterfall and have done with it!"

"Well that _would_ be a step to far," Richard said, fixing her with a patronising expression, "We don't _all_ have supernatural powers like you,"

Maria inhaled, irritation and incredulity threatening to overwhelm her. But suppressing a glare, she turned her attention instead to the bank; Robin was already back in the water and assisted by Henry, pulling the spluttering and splashing boys back towards the bank. David, having apparently done his bit, was heading towards where she and Richard were sat.

"Whiny little gits," He growled, kicking Richard's leg out of the way and sitting down in the remaining patch of shade, "It's too hot to deal with their belly aching!"

"Too right," Richard agreed, dropping his leg back to the ground.

"For heaven's _sake!_ " Maria exclaimed before she could stop herself, "Don't you two have a _single ounce_ of patience or sensitivity?"

"No," David snapped back.

"Well, speak for yourself," Richard remarked, "But I'm famously sensitive,"

David snorted. "Famous my _ar_ -"

But Richard quickly interrupted him. "Now now, mind your language David," He reprimanded, a wicked gleam entering his eye, "If you haven't noticed, we're in the presence of a _lady_ , educated at one of London's finest establishments," He smirked and inclined his head at Maria, "We wouldn't want to scandalise her and send her running back now, would we?"

David looked like he couldn't care less. This was rather unsurprising, as of the three of Robin's friends, he'd always been the least friendly towards Maria and could often be downright unpleasant. Henry had accepted her quickest of three, always perfectly civil. And Richard…well Maria was never quite sure where she stood with Richard. He was somewhere between David and Henry she supposed, not openly hostile, but not openly friendly either.

She met his gaze and looked steadily back at him, refusing to be cowed. "I very much doubt there's much left for _you_ to do that _could_ scandalise me," She replied pointedly. "And my headmistress wouldn't take me back anyway,"

"Oh? Why not?" Richard asked, his curiosity getting the better of him, "Did she hear about the time you ran through our streets in your underwear and kick you out?"

"Of course not. But even if she had, I still standby it. It was completely justified and any reasonable person would agree,"

"I didn't think bitter old spinsters were particularly reasonable," Richard commented. And although Maria very much wanted to contradict him, she couldn't truthfully do so since it was really a rather good assessment of her former head mistress's character. She was saved from giving any begrudging reply though by David.

"Would you two just shut up?" He growled, "I'm fed up listening to you. And them! It's too damned _hot_ and I'm fed up of that too, fed up of the _sun_ , the fed up of the _heat_! And you know what makes it worse-?"

"The fact you _won't_ stop talking about it?" Maria interjected irritably, unappreciative of being reminded of how uncomfortable she was. David gave an snarl in reply but Richard spoke over him before he could verbalise any further retort.

"Are ladies supposed to be so snarky?" He enquired, looking at her with an eyebrow raised, "But then you've never been very good at holding your tongue I suppose..."

"I think you'll find I'm _very_ good at holding my tongue," Maria disagreed, "Given what I'm actually thinking,"

"Oh really?" Richard grinned, "And what could that be? Not the urge to swear, surely! You'd never be so unladylike. And of course you couldn't _possibly_ be considering whether or not to hit me either..."

"Ladies are allowed to hit presumptuous men," Maria informed him in a clipped tone, very much regretting the opening she'd given him, "Luckily for you, David's right: it's too hot to move,"

"Well, you seem to have found a practical way of dealing with it," Richard lowered his eyes, nodding towards her open neckline, "Undo one more button and I'm sure I could see exactly why your headmistress disliked you and more besides-"

Maria shot him a look of utter disdain. "What are you? A desperate twelve year old?"

David made a noise, but for the first time since he'd appeared, it wasn't one of derision or antagonism. "That about sums him up," He snorted, turning to look at his friend, "That _sensitive_ approach of yours isn't proving very effective now, is it?"

"As opposed to what, your approach channelling your big brother Dulac's charm?" Richard challenged, glaring at David "I've seen you, sniffing around the skirts of the women he's finished with-"

"Oh my," Maria tutted, unable to help the small measure of satisfaction their arguing was bringing her, "Turning on each other already? The heat really is bringing out the worst in us all isn't it?"

Richard scowled before turning his attention away from David. "Well it's been good for one thing at least," He muttered, apparently forgetting his insolent attitude toward her in his annoyance with David, "And keeping Robin around at the castle a bit more. If he keeps disappearing so much he's going to land himself in serious trouble with his father-"

"Disappearing?" Maria echoed, this new topic catching her interest, "Where's he been going?"

David scowled at her. "You tell _us_ ,"

She frowned contemptuously back "How should I know?"

"Isn't he always at Moonacre Manor?" David demanded.

"Well, yes, but why should he get into trouble for that?" Maria asked, ignoring his accusatory tone, "His father sends him to work with my uncle doesn't he?"

David only gave an incredulous snort, continuing to glare sourly at her.

"I think his father wishes he would pay quite so much attention to his other responsibilities closer to home," Richard remarked drily, "Like to women, for instance. If he could just stop messing about and actually pick one of them, maybe the rest of them will divert their attentions elsewhere…"

"That's your excuse?" David turned his glare from Maria to look at Richard with a half pitying, half smug expression, "Maybe Robin _does_ get more girls than the rest of us but it wouldn't help _you_ even if he did," He grinned, "And why should he just pick _one_? Why should any of us? It wouldn't be fair for me to tie myself down to just _one_ women when so many of them apparently want me…"

"Well, at least you're modest about it," Richard quipped, choosing resigned sarcasm rather than annoyance to challenge David with this time, "But I suppose that must part be your charm…"

"I don't need to be _charming_ ," David said disdainfully, "That's what your problem is. Maybe _girls_ and _ladies_ want charm and _sensitivity_ but any real woman worth time or notice doesn't. They want a real man,"

"And that's what you are is it? A real man?" Richard asked.

"Yes," David said with a satisfied smirk.

Maria, meanwhile, pressed her lips shut during this discussion, halfway between forcing herself to hold her tongue and not wanting to waste her breath to begin with. The conversation, and the direction David was steering it in as he continued bragging of his conquests, didn't impress her and she _knew_ what he was doing. While Richard wasn't exactly jumping to her defence, and was being far more provocative than he perhaps would be if Robin were there with her, she had the feeling he was testing her more than anything else. David, on the other hand, was deliberately trying to make her feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.

Well, she wouldn't be so easily excluded. The reason for his antagonism she supposed was to assert his own friendship with Robin over hers, now that she was back. Or perhaps it was just because he had never liked her much, viewing her as an outsider. Either way, she didn't intend to put up with such behaviour much longer. Whether he liked it or not, she _was_ back. His low opinions of _ladies_ aside, she was also the Moon Princess, and she had just as much right to be there as anyone.

"David," She cut in, "You don't have any sisters do you?" It was phrased as a statement rather than a question.

"No," He broke off his boasting to look at her contemptuously, "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Because there's one rule about women you're missed out on as a result," Maria informed him, "And I think you ought to know it,"

Both David and Richard were looking at her with their full attention now and Maria sat up slowly, gazing determinedly back at both of them.

"Oh?" David sneered, trying to sound disinterested and dismissive of whatever it was she had to say, "And what's that?"

Maria fixed her eyes solely on him. "That while men seem to enjoy exaggerating and bragging to each other, women don't. They do, however, tell each other everything,"

This announcement was met by silence as both De Noirs stared at her.

"Everything?" Richard eventually repeated.

" _Everything_ ," Maria confirmed, "All those _little_ details you miss out, all those things that you think are irrelevant or unimportant, women discuss at _great_ length, I assure you,"

Richard narrowed his eyes, though his gaze was appraising rather than dismissive. "How do you know?" he asked. David, Maria was pleased to see, looked downright unnerved.

"Well, apart from being one myself, I've been shut up with dozens of them for the past five years," She was fighting to keep her tone neutral now, scorn threatening to creep in as she fixed her eyes on David and carried on, "So, as a piece of _friendly_ advice, from the other side so to speak, I would remember that before you crow too loudly over everyone else. Because I don't think that the weather is the sole reason you're so irritable is it David? No, I'd say you're going through more than one _dry spell_ at the moment, wouldn't you?"

The sound of splashing water and shouts from the river filled the silence that followed this statement.The shock on both the De Noirs faces was louder still. And then-

"You lying bastard!" Richard exclaimed, rounding on David and erupting into laughter, "You mouthy, delusional, _lying_ bastard! I knew it, you couldn't satisfy a women if you were the last man on earth!"

David, looking absolutely livid, glowered at Maria, "You little _witch_! I swear I'll-"

"I'm afraid you make a rod for your own back David," She interrupted him, "What goes around, comes around,"

"Oh, doesn't it _just_ ," Richard guffawed, sending a wink at Maria, "I'll see to that!"

Naturally, David started roaring threats at the both of them. Richard only laughed even more though, completely unfazed, and Maria was unable to suppress her own feeling of satisfaction. _De Noirs were easy_. Lions they may be, but it was the lioness that was truly the more fearsome…

Maria's victory was to be short lived though, for glancing unintentionally toward the river, she caught sight of Robin and Henry looking curiously over to them, their attentions no doubt diverted by the sound or Richard's raucous laughter and David's indignant bellows. As her eyes met Robin's, her satisfaction instantly evaporated.

Hastily gathering her skirts, she stood, tearing her eyes away. But even as she fled from his smouldering gaze, the image of his broad frame, glistening with water again, would, she knew, remain imprinted in her mind's eye for a long time afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With all that's going on, I've ended up with a little more time than I though for finishing this chapter, which I suppose is a silver lining. The end is rather abrupt, I know, but there was no point continuing to agonise over it when the rest of the chapter was finally there. It's been there, apart from most of the dialogue with David and Richard, for a long time, although the idea of Maria showing David up was always the aim. David as the mean one, Richard as the snarky one and Henry and the nice one is something I use in all the stories I have ideas for, so I hope is something that you like!
> 
> The next chapter will definitely be a longer wait than this one, as it is much further off being finished. In the meantime, please drop me a comment of what you think! What do you want more of or less off? I'm writing for you, so help me get it right for you! When I see there's a unread comment waiting for me it really rewarding!
> 
> Obviously it is a scary and difficult time at the moment, but remember we'll get through it. Reading and writing is an escape for many people I'm sure, so hopefully this has helped you in someway. Best wishes for all your health, and stay safe!
> 
> 12/05/20 Just a quick update to thank everyone for their support and let you know that the third chapter is in progress and slowly getting there! Currently standing at 8000 words and likely to be closer to 10,000 when it's finished! While it will still be a bit longer before it is posted I promise I am working on it. Thank you for your patience and keep safe!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only good thing Maria can say about the heatwave currently assailing Moonacre Valley it that at least is disguises her flushed cheeks and the decidedly non-friendly thoughts plaguing her. But between this, the De Noir dogging her footsteps and her abysmal lack of self-control all ruining her equanimity, something has got to give. 
> 
> (Or Maria returns from school and tries to fit back in at Moonacre. Her state of mind? Drumming Song)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's been so long, and I'm also sorry that I'm rewarding your patience with such a short chapter! But here it is and beyond that this is not the final chapter I planned it to be, I'll let you read it and explain afterwards!

Arriving back at the Moonacre Manor, Maria went straight to her own room. _Never_ in her life had she felt so wound up, so completely frustrated and had no idea how to deal with it. Her mind was in a state of turmoil and for the first time since she had returned to Moonacre, Maria found she missed school. Well, not school precisely, but she missed her school friends, longing in that moment for one of them to confide in. All the girls there had come from such different walks of life, had various brothers and cousins and sweethearts between them all. They would have so willingly and eagerly provided her with some advice on the male mind, shared their own experiences to help her in exchange only for her confession.

But then, thinking about it, how useful could their advice be? None of them had any experience of a situation quite as unique as hers- how could they? As far as she knew, she was the only one of them who came from a home of magic and mystery. But then who at Moonacre could Maria talk to? Mrs Digweed was of course completely out of the question, and whatever Loveday had said about going to her if she needed to talk, she absolutely was _not_ the right person. As her aunt had pointed out to her, _Robin_ was usually the person Maria confided in the most, but this time, given the subject, given that he was almost the sole reason behind all her tumultuous and mixed up feelings, she'd rather have jumped off a cliff again than breathed any word of it to him.

No, Maria had only herself, her own reason, intuition and instinct to guide her this time. And she could at least comfort herself that her feelings were entirely normal and natural. Why else had all her fellow school friends whispered in the dark to each other about stolen kisses and the same secret desires? Why else had they passed around those scandalous novels (disguised as duller volumes) and discussed them in that same safe haven of their dormitories? There had more than one, but the most popular had always remained the one concerning a dashing, dangerous Highwayman...

Maria had been one of the few who had only read this particular book once, for her imagination had needed no help. Not when she already had direct experience of attempted robbery on the road, which, at the time, had been terrifying rather than _thrilling_ as the other girls imagined it to be. Of course, it helped that they all also imagined the handsome debonair described in the book, who happened to be intercepting his beautiful young victim just as she was on her way be married to a cruel old man she had never met.

Maria’s imagination, on the other hand, supplied a much more rugged and raffish figure, the very same one who had _actually_ tried to rob her. At first, Robin’s purpose had simply been to steal her from her carriage on her way back to school, to take her and hide her at one of the many secret spots he’d discovered in the forest so she didn’t have to return to London. But as she’d grown older, a flicker had ignited within her. That purpose alone had no longer been satisfying, something in her demanded more until her imagination gradually provided her something closer to that of the novel…

In the end, she’d certainly learnt more about men and woman from those books and her school friends than anyone else on that subject. Her old fashioned teachers had all subscribed to the idea that such knowledge was only be revealed to a young lady on her wedding night by an appropriate female relation. But whatever her headmistress had so constantly preached to them all at school, Maria didn't believe that she wasn't supposed to feel such feelings. She she did take the point that she was supposed to _govern_ them though. That had always been the point of leaving Moonacre, and these more _passionate_ stirrings of hers had become just another part of herself that she had to balance…

Which clearly wasn't happening. Not if what had just happened at the waterfall before she and Robin had been interrupted was any indication anyway. Or _had_ it? Given how... _fevered_ her imagination had been of late, it wasn't entirely impossible that she'd imagined it. That look on Robin’s face, the burn of his eyes before he’d leaned in- or had it just been _her_ leaning in _?_ Oh God, if it had, _thank the moon_ they’d been interrupted-

But then, what if she hadn’t imagined it? And they hadn’t been interrupted? Whether it had been her, or him or _both_ , it had never come so close to actually happening as it just had.

The thought didn’t send a thrilling shiver down Maria’s spine as it usually did however. Maybe Robin would have kissed her, maybe he _had_ actually wanted to; but what did that prove? Most young men _would_ kiss a girl if she let him, the attitudes of Richard and David in the conversation that had followed had proved that. And while Maria knew better than to give any sort of stock to their comments, especially given the motives behind that particular discussion, their words played on her mind nonetheless.

Because what if what they had said about Robin was _true_? What did that make _her_? Richard had said Robin needed to stop ‘ _messing around’._ And David had agreed; _Maybe Robin does get more than his fair share of women_ had been his words. Did that just mean she was another form of entertainment when Robin was bored with everyone else? That was one explanation for his persistent presence whenever she had been back, his tireless mission to discompose her. For Maria wasn't naive about men. She’d heard enough first hand stories and experiences from her school fellows to know that she certainly wouldn't be the first to have her affections toyed with, and she wouldn't be the last if that _was_ what was going on.

But…it _couldn’t_ be. Because he was Robin. Her irritating, protective, cocky _Robin_. The bird boy that always listened, even when she thought she was beyond hearing.

_A piece of home for you Princess._

Oh it was all such a _mess_. Maria buried her head in her hands. That flicker in her had become an inferno and she had no idea who was fanning the flames anymore. Why did things have to get so complicated? Why did all the complications have to fall on her, fall on women? It wasn't fair; that she had had to leave in the first place, that she was supposed to constantly behave, that she could only guess at the motivations and desires of those around her-

And the infernal heat was only making everything she was feeling ten times worse. There was absolutely no escape from any of it.

*

After another restless night of little sleep, Maria rose early the following morning. Joining her family at the breakfast table, she saw that no one looked particularly well rested or refreshed, all looking just as she felt: uncomfortable and fed up.

All perhaps with the exception of Mrs Digweed. “Good morning Maria my dear,” She greeted, rising above her discomfort with the determined and dignified air of an English woman refusing to be discomposed by something as inconsequential as the weather. Reminded fondly of times long past, when classical French needle point had been the answer to anything life could throw at them, Maria kissed her former governess’s check.

“Good morning Mrs Digweed,” She replied affectionately, sitting down beside her. George, opposite, immediately started squirming in his seat.

“ _No,_ George stay in your own seat and let Maria have her breakfast in peace,” Loveday scolded him, no doubt made less patient than usual by her second child, who, confused, uncomfortable and unable to understand why at only one year old, was clinging to her and no doubt making them both considerably warmer.

“But she was gone all morning yesterday,” George complained, “And I didn’t get to see all afternoon!”

“Well you shouldn’t have thrown frogspawn at Mrs Digweed should you? Perhaps then you wouldn’t have been confined to your room,”

“She said she was too hot! I was only trying to-”

“George,” The warning in his father’s voice caused George to fall silent, although he glowered resentfully down at his eggs.

At the mention of frogspawn, Maria lowered her own eyes, determined to focus on nothing but butting her toast, lest she betray either her sympathy or amusement. She only glanced upwards when Digweed re-entered the room and approached her uncle.

“A letter for you Sir,” He said with a bow.

Sir Benjamin set down his knife and fork down to receive and unseal the letter. Everyone else, glad of a distraction from the stuffy heat of the room and their non-existent appetites, turned to eye him with unabashed interest. They were to be disappointed however, for his expression gave little away as he read it.

“Well?” Loveday asked impatiently several moments later, looking directly at her husband over the top of Eliza’s head, “Who's it from?”

Sir Benjamin glanced momentarily at Maria before addressing his wife. “Mr Abbot,” He said, laying the letter down, “It seems he is in the county and wishes to pay us another visit,” Reaching for an egg, he cracked it with far more aggression than he usually did into his morning drink. “Tomorrow,”

“ _Tomorrow_?” Loveday echoed, “But he finished his business with you only a few weeks ago! Why should he need to come back to see you so soon?”

“I don’t think it’s me he wishes to see,” Sir Benjamin muttered darkly.

“You think he’s here to-” But glancing from her husband to Maria, Loveday broke off, realising perhaps that the breakfast table wasn't the best place to discuss this turn of events. But it was too late.

“Here to what?” George piped up, a frown creasing his young face, “Why’s he coming back Mamma?”

“Never mind darling,” Turning to her anxious looking son, Loveday smiled reassuringly, “Come on, eat up your eggs now,”

George, however, no longer had any interest in his eggs and at the mention of Mr Abbot's name, Maria found her own appetite had vanished too. He was coming back. _Already_. Quite possibly to _-_

Mrs Digweed was the one to voice what they were all thinking.

“God gracious Maria, you must have made quite an impression!” She exclaimed, setting down her own fork. “Back just a few weeks and quite possibly a _proposal_ already coming your way-”

“Madam-” Sir Benjamin interjected warningly, but the damage was already done.

“A _proposal_?” George's voice was shrill over the top of his father's and filled with the same horror sweeping through Maria.

"George do _not_ interrupt your father like that," Loveday reprimanded, "And he may be coming for any number of reasons..."

No one was much convinced by this however. Maria tried desperately to believe it as, after all, she told herself, Mr Abbot hadn't known her above a week. Yes, he had hinted that he had wanted to come back, sooner rather than later, and she hadn't categorically told him she didn't want him to… But returning so soon to propose to her? _Surely_ _not_.

But then _why not_? It wouldn’t be so _very_ unexpected on his part; it was by no means uncommon for a man to propose to a woman after only one meeting in some circumstances. Some never met at all before they were married-

Oh God, and if he _did_ , if he _was_ coming to propose, what would she _do_? What should she _say_? School had never taught her how to deal with _this_ situation, how to turn down proposals from suitable young men. It had always been more concerned with accepting them and avoiding the evils of temptation and desire. While _suitable_ was exactly what Mr Abbot was, nothing about that was _tempting_ and only desire she had ever felt around him was to _get away_ from his good manners and respectable behaviour. But that was what he offered her, and that thought, the thought of a life of _civility_ and _politeness_ -

It sent a wave of blind panic crashing through Maria.

She shot to her feet, pushing back her chair before Digweed had the chance to remove it for her. “Excuse me,” She choked out, refusing to meet anyone apart from her uncle’s eye, but even then she didn't wait for his permission before bolting across the room. Tripping in her haste on her skirts and not looking where she was going, upon reaching the door, Maria wrenched it open-

-And ran headlong into someone the other side of it. Whoever it was grabbed her elbow to steady her, but before Maria could do anything more than stumble back a step, a second, much tinier figure hurtled through the same door behind her and flung themselves into her legs. Knocked off balance for a second time, Maria was once again propelled forwards and Loveday, appearing at the breakfast room door a split second later with Eliza still in her arms, was thus met by the most unexpected sight: Her niece, struggling to stand in the arms of her recently arrived brother, and her son, crying uncontrollably as he tugged ferociously at Maria's skirts.

“George let go of her!” Loveday instantly cried. But George only clung all the more tightly to Maria’s skirts. “You-c-can’t-leave- _already_ -” He sobbed.

“Oh George, no, she’s not-” By now, Loveday couldn’t stifle her amusement any longer however. It burst forth from her but the sound of his mother's laughter only made George wail harder than ever. This, in turn, led to Eliza adding her shrill cries over the top of his and a confused cacophony of sobbing and wailing echoed through the hall.

“What the _hell’s_ going on?” Robin exclaimed, still trying to keep Maria upright as George beat at her legs with his fists, and only just audible over the rising din his niece and nephews combined screaming.

“Nothing!” Maria cried, feeling close to bursting into tears herself now, “ _Nothing_ is going on and _no-one_ is going _anywhere_!”

Finally managing to disentangle herself from both Robin and George, she snatched up her cousin and fled away down the hall with him.

By the time Maria reached the nursery, it was too late to reverse George’s complete melt-down. He refused to do anything other than cling to her neck and sob as if the world was coming to an end around him. Maria collapsed down into a chair and Loveday re-appeared not a minute later. She hastily put Eliza down to try and pry George away from around her niece’s neck but was forced very quickly to desist in these efforts as they resulted in the little boy nearly strangling Maria. Noticing at this point that Eliza was once again about to start competing with her brother for who had the greatest lung capacity, all Loveday could do was throw Maria an apologetic look before abandoning her to bear her daughter away.

Maria thus resigned herself to her fate. She could feel her sanity slipping away, bit by bit, with each gasping breath George took as he wailed as close as he possibly could to her ear. It registered somewhere in the depths of her mind that at least she was rendered incapable of thinking about anything else, namely Robin De Noir’s sudden arrival or the news Mr Abbot’s imminent one, although this was of little consolation. Time seemed to stop, and every time she thought that George might be about to stop, tears sprung forth once again with renewed intensity…

Eventually, having been so distracted from his eggs at breakfast, George’s hunger slowly started to eclipse his distress. When he did finally cease crying, Maria felt as if she had aged by at least a decade. She wanted nothing more than to vanish into the woods as Loveday had done for living in a cave surrounded only by woodland creatures unable to _speak or_ _weep_ seemed a suddenly a very attractive prospect. But setting down the sniffling and hiccupping George, Maria dutifully took his hand and went in search of Marmaduke, hoping against hope that the miraculous chef could whip up something to distract him from any more tears.

It was on their way back from the kitchens that Robin found them. “Come on,” he immediately ordered, taking George’s hand from Maria and swinging his nephew onto his shoulders, “You can have your lunch outside, Marmaduke will know where you’ve got to,”

Personally, Maria didn’t think much of this idea. The heat of midday aside, she was suffering more from a thumping headache and would have much preferred to have sat alone in a cool, dark room. These were, of course, two things impossible to come by at the moment, and she suspected George would manage to find her even if she took refuge on the bottom of the seabed. Robin, at least, seemed to be providing a temporary distraction and the prospect of sharing responsibility for her cousin at that moment far outweighed Maria’s desire to avoid the curly haired De Noir heir.

Digweed found them just as they sat down in the shade of a great oak tree. He set down a basket laden with food before them and a jug of lemonade and glasses from the tray he was also carrying.

“Marmaduke suggested you might like to drink this Miss Maria,” He said, turning to Maria and passing a separate wooden cup to her from the tray, “Mrs Digweed swears by it, after lessons with the little Master...”

Maria accepted it gratefully, and despite her headache, felt a small flicker of amusement. Mrs Digweed, while frequently complaining that boys were completely unruly, impossible to educate and that she was by now far too old to be attempting it, would of course hear nothing of actually giving it up. Frogspawn or no frogspawn it seemed...

With a bow Digweed left them. Robin and George had missed the exchange entirely in their haste to upend the basket of food and sipping at Marmaduke's remedy, Maria watched the pair with an expression of mild nausea as they both ripped into its contents like starving animals.

“Didn’t you get fed at the castle?” she asked, fixing her gaze pointedly on Robin. Her tone was light but her expression was clear. _Stop teaching George bad habits._

“No, I left early and missed breakfast,” he replied, swallowing a finger sandwich whole and looking back at her with an expression that answered: _well_ , _someone has to._

“Aren’t you hungry Maria?” George asked, offering her half of his own jam sandwich, most of which seemed to be all over his face.

“I’m fine thank you George,” Maria politely declined.

He only frowned in concern at this unfathomable lack of appetite though. "But you must be!" He insisted, turning to Robin. "Uncle Robin, give her some of your apple instead!"

Halfway through quartering this fruit with a knife from his boot, Robin glanced up. “Well Princess?” He asked, barely suppressing his grin and offering her a slice, "Would you like some apple?"

 _An apple_ was most definitely something Maria did not want. Especially from _him_. But caught between the challenge in his eyes and the expect look in George’s, she had no choice but to accept the slice.

“Thank you,” Maria replied in a forced tone, her cheeks burning as she tried and failed not recall the last occasion involving apples between them. George, meanwhile, contented that she was now sharing in their picnic, munched happily on his own slice, totally oblivious the laughter in his uncle's eyes and the embarrassment in Maria's. She was not one to go down quite so easily however.

“So was there any particular reason for forgoing you own breakfast and _interrupting_ ours?” she asked, fixing her eyes defiantly on Robin and returning to her original point in an attempt to regain some ground.

“Why, wasn't I welcome?” he shot back, completely untroubled by her tone and lazily leaning back on his elbows.

“Of course you were!” George interrupted loudly, “You're _always_ welcome Uncle Robin. It’s _Mr Abbot_ who isn’t _."_

“George that’s rude,” Maria reprimanded sharply. “ _Everyone_ is welcome at Moonacre,”

The little boy only scowled mutinously at his apple and didn’t look particularly contrite.

"Ah, _Mr Abbot,_ the name on everyone's lips this morning,” Robin remarked, a hint of sarcasm creeping into his voice, "Wasn't it _lucky_ he came along when he did?"

Maria narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well there’s only so much we De Noirs can do to entertain you. Especially since you apparently know us so well now. And no doubt you’ll get bored of Moonacre before long..."

"Moonacre isn't boring!" George turned his scowl to Robin, as if to reproach him for putting such an idea into Maria’s head.

"Well maybe not to us it isn't," Robin answered, leaning conspiratorially towards his nephew although his gaze flickered back to Maria, "But who knows what your cousin got up to in London? She might miss it before too long. But I suppose she can entertain herself toying with the hearts of the best gentlemen Moonacre Valley has to offer for a while before she tires of it. How long has she been back for? Barely even a month? And already she's made a conquest...”

It took every ounce of will power Maria possessed not to seize the jug of lemonade and throw it at him. But just like Sir Benjamin's warning to Mrs Digweed earlier, her glare came too late.

“But you only just got back!" George's lip trembled dangerously and he looked beseeching at Maria, "You can’t leave again! Promise you won't leave Maria!”

“Of course I’m not going to leave," Maria quickly assured him, before shooting another glare at Robin. While she certainly did have no intention of leaving (if she could help it), she did _not_ appreciate being railroaded into promising it. "I'm not going anywhere George,”

“But Uncle Robin just said-”

“Uncle Robin should learn to keep his opinions to himself," Maria was unable to supress her impatience now, "Especially on a subject like this since _he’s_ unlikely to ever find a woman willing to have him,”

Robin only inclined his head leisurely towards her, an unconcerned smirk pulling at his lips. “I think you’ll find I’m very popular Princess,”

“Then why not save your comments and go and share them with someone _unintelligent_ enough to find them witty!” She snapped.

Robin raised an eyebrow. “Have I touched a nerve?”

He absolutely had which only served to infuriate Maria all the more. But, whatever her feelings for the irritating De Noir, she'd _never_ have admitted it to him. It was a matter of self-respect- which, she hastily assured herself, was entirely _different_ from pride.

Before she could send an angry retort Robin's way though, George anxiously interrupted.

“So you're not going to marry My Abbot?" He asked, clearly unwilling to let the conversation move on until he had secured as many promises as he could, "Or someone else from London?”

“ _No I am not_ ," Maria repeated emphatically, "I’d rather marry an ogre,”

George looked incredibly pleased by this. “I haven’t met any ogres,” He mused, “Have you Uncle Robin? In the forest?”

“I can’t say that I have,” Robin answered, pretending to think about it, “But if I _do_ find one I’ll be sure to bring it back for our princess to marry,”

“Well if you don’t, she could always marry _you_ ,” George suggested, “As a backup,”

“As a _backup_?” Robin repeated, “Are you comparing me to an ogre?” He looked equally as amused by this as he did offended.

“While your uncle certainly has the _manners_ of an ogre,” Maria interjected, eager to move on from this unsettling turn in the conversation as quickly as possible, "I'm sure he won't want to marry anyone for a long time yet,"

"And what makes you so sure of that?" Robin challenged, turning to her with his eyebrows raised.

“I thought you just said you were oh-so-very _popular_ ,” She reminded him.

“I am,”

“And you're willing to give that up so soon and disappoint so many?”

“I'll have to one day. And whether that's sooner or later they’ll just have to live with the disappointment,”

"Oh, and how will they bear it," Maria remarked sarcastically.

"Well, that won't be my problem, will it?" Robin answered with a grin.

A grin which suddenly stripped Maria of all humour. _No_ , she thought. It wouldn't be _his_ problem at all.

Abruptly, she stood up. “Excuse me,”

Both Robin and George looked taken aback. "Where are you going?" Robin asked, sitting upright.

"Inside,” Maria said shortly.

"I can stay outside can't I?" George asked, "With Uncle Robin?"

"Of course you can,” Maria answered with an as much indifference as she could, “I'm sure he'll appreciate you keeping him busy. Especially-” She stooped to pick up the basket, “-since he’s at such a loose end himself,"

The grin had completely evaporated from Robin’s face now. "Princess- _wait_ -"

But she didn't. Refusing to hear or heed it, Maria turned away, absolutely unable to bear staying a moment longer outside.

 _Life in Loveday’s cave,_ she thought, back at the house before she knew it and handing the basket to one of the servants _, would be just as free of De Noirs as it would be of Mr Abbots._

The thought gave her little to comfort, however, and she hastened away to hide in one of the darker corners of the library, wanting nothing more than to be left alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you can see, this is now the third chapter of a planned four instead of the three-shot it was originally supposed to be. That's also why this chapter is the shortest so far and ends rather abruptly! While I'm unhappy that I've essentially posted a 'filler' chapter, I am happy that I've finally managed to update, and I hope you are too, and don't feel too short changed by it! 
> 
> What was supposed to be the third chapter was getting longer and longer, until it reached the length of the entire first two chapters and still not finished! But since the first third of it was, I decided to split it at at least post that part. It took a while for me to made that decision, since it will probably affect the momentum of the next chapter, but at least I can keep working on that without feeling so much pressure and guilt at the increasing delay now. Plus, I've had a bonus chapter planned for a while now, so that will round this story up to a nice total of 5 chapters I suppose!
> 
> Thank you so much for being so patient, and I hope you can keep it up for a little longer yet! Your support is massively appreciated and I hope you are still enjoying reading this story!
> 
> 05/12/20  
> Gosh, it was never supposed to be this long!! I've had a really busy couple of months but I promise I haven't forgotten this! The last chapter is 90% done and currently standing at 9000+ words. My main writing time is a couple of hours after work on the odd evening which I'll admit isn't the most productive time of the day. But it's just the very last part that I am trying to get right now! I really will try to have it finished by the end of the month, and I'm absolutely determined for it to be finished in 2020 even if I just post what I've got and stop obsessing! Your comments, particularly those that have been posted over the last couple of weeks, have been absolutely amazing as i've really been struggling. Everytime I've sat down to write its been with the thought that this time, this time is the time I finish it. But I've not which is so frustrating because its so close!! Seeing your support is so vitally motivational though so thank you so much for it and for being so patient!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the final chapter at last, and a long one! I’ve plenty of comments for it but since you’ve waited long enough, I’ll save my usual essay for afterwards! This starts pretty much straight after the last chapter and since its been so long you may want to refresh yourself, or read all 25k+ words of the entire work now it’s finally finished! I should say though, if you’ve felt uncomfortable with any of the more mature themes of the earlier chapters, this last chapter might not be for you...

Maria spent the rest of day avoiding everyone as well as she could. She had no idea how long Robin stayed, but he wasn't at dinner. As relieved as she was by this, it somehow also increased the anxiety twisting its way through her, and not particularly hungry, she retired to bed as soon as she could. Sleeping proved just as impossible as eating had done though, and she tossed and turned restlessly, her mounting apprehension about Mr Abbot’s impending visit and the unceasing heat keeping her wide awake all night.

Managing to drift into a fitful sleep some hours before dawn, Maria awoke mid-morning to a feeling of pure dread in the pit of her stomach. Intuitive as ever, Marmaduke had left a pot of chamomile tea at her bedside which was somehow the perfect temperature to drink, despite the fact that she usually rose far earlier. As thoughtful as this had been, Maria only managed to drink half a cup before giving it up and it was in a detached haze of resigned trepidation that she rose to bathe and dress herself. Only when she was sat before her mirror and pinning her long, freshly washed curls into a loose twist did she exert some power over herself, trying to remind herself how utterly ridiculous it was for her to be in such a state of dread over the visit of such a well-meaning young man.

But that, Maria supposed, staring at her pale reflection in the mirror, was precisely the problem. Had Mr Abbot been old, rude or unpleasant, _anything_ other than the well-mannered and kind young man he had proved himself to be, then she would have known what to say to him, would have been sure of her families support in refusing him…

But she wasn’t. And lingering in her bedroom would do little to delay the inevitable.

Descending from her tower, Maria made her way to the morning room where she found Mrs Digweed and Loveday, both attempting to remain cool in the already stifling heat of the day. Upon seeing her, Mrs Digweed immediately jumped up, exclaiming over Maria’s appearance, pointing out the simplicity of her dress, the unsophisticated style of her hair-

“Maria looks beautiful no matter how she dresses,” Loveday broke in, “Mr Abbot, or any young man for that matter, would be a fool to think otherwise,”

“Well _of course_ she’s beautiful, I never said she wasn’t,” Mrs Digweed replied indignantly, “But men _are_ fools, and Mr Abbot will be arriving after a visit to the city. Fashions are very different there and we don’t want him to miss how beautiful she _is_ because he’s expecting something of that sort…”

“He’s expecting to visit Maria in the country, not in town,” Loveday pointed out, “And even if she were dressed in a sack, or covered from head to foot in mud again, I daresay he wouldn’t notice,” She smiled encouragingly at Maria who managed a wan smile back.

The incident her aunt was alluding to was of course one that Maria needed no help in recalling; she’d been on her way back from Silvery Dew with Robin at the time. It had been an instinctual and impulsive (if ill-judged) decision to jump into the bog upon seeing the poor calf trapped there, for the elderly herdsmen to whom it belonged had been far too old to undertake the rescue himself. Two minutes later, Maria had realised the fault in her decision though.

 _“Is there something wrong Princess?”_ Robin had called from where he was stood next to the herdsman, arms crossed, and already knowing full well of course what the problem was.

 _“I’m stuck,”_ Maria had ground out through gritted teeth, refusing to look up and meet his eye.

_“What was that?”_

_“I’m stuck!”_

_“Oh no, what are you going to do?”_

_“Robin!”_

Laughing, it was only after this furious shout that Robin had done what he’d always intended. Taking the rope the herdsman offered him (which Maria in her haste had completely failed to notice), he’d rather more sensibly tied it around himself before finally jumping in after her. Maria had been on the point of summoning her resolve to overcome her pride and thank him for this rescue, but he had waded straight past her towards the calf. By the time Robin had hauled the exhausted creature free and finally turned back to Maria, with an unmistakable smirk on his face, steam had practically been blowing from her ears. Of course, this hadn’t been because Maria had in any way begrudged the calf its rescue before her, only the motive behind Robin’s deliberate decision, which, naturally, had been to let her stand there as long as possible until the murky water had seeped into every single layer of what she was wearing and any part of her above the water line was deluged by the calf’s thrashing about.

Thus covered from head to foot in muddy bog water, Maria had stormed all the way back to Moonacre refusing to utter a single word to him. As expected, her appearance back at the Manor in such a state had caused instant uproar and only after she’d been scrubbed down to within an inch of her life and her clothes all immediately burnt had the household eventually calm down. It was at this point, just as she was finally clean, and felt as if she had regained the tiniest _smidgen_ of her dignity, that the herdsmen had arrived at the Manor, claiming he was delivering ‘Maria’. This of course had completely baffled everyone until he’d explained that he meant the calf, who he had named after Maria in honour of her ‘ _brave rescue’_. Robin, who’d lingered with the express purpose of waiting for Maria to reappear so he could tell her she had missed a bit, had choked so hard on his own laughter at this that he’d still been coughing when he left the Manor shortly afterwards.

The recollection of this rather humiliating affair usually cheered Maria up, for despite her embarrassing name, she had afterwards become very fond of Maria the cow. She had always made a point of visiting her during her school holidays, as it hadn’t been long after this incident, and the story had spread through Silverydew, that the decision had been made to send to school.

Now though, the memory just made her feel sick.

“Come Maria my dear,” Mrs Digweed announced, jolting Maria from her thoughts, “Marmaduke will be laying out my tea and crumpets just now and you must eat something. We don’t want you fainting from lack of nourishment when Mr Abbot arrives, this heat will do that on its own…”

Mrs Digweed chivvied her former ward along into the breakfast room where her elevenses had indeed been laid out, as had a bowl of fruit. Grateful again for this considerate foresight by Marmaduke, Maria seated herself next to her dear Miss Heliotrope who poured her a cup of tea. What little appetite Maria had quickly waned however as the good lady launched into one sided chatter beside her.

“Oh Maria, you must be so excited! I know I would have been at your age, although, by that time I had already decided nothing would stop me from heeding the noble call of teaching. Of course you were only a baby when you first came into my care, for I could never have refused your dear mother anything. She was always my favourite you know, before you came along. And look at you now, every inch as beautiful as she was! Oh, how very proud of you she’d be. She was only a little older than you when she married your father you know, for he was quite the dashing officer and he completely swept her off her feet-”

And so it went on.

Tuning her former governess out as best she could, Maria forced herself to finish her fruit and excused herself from Mrs Digweed’s company as quickly as she could, intending to seek out Sir Benjamin’s instead. He was the one person in the house that she could be sure of _not_ to discuss that which she was trying not to think about. Finding him reading in the piano room and selecting a book for herself, this prediction proved true and they both sat with their books in silence for a time.

It soon became apparent to Maria, however, that her uncle was having the same amount of success actually reading as she was. He seemed restless, fidgeting in his chair when usually he would have sat as still as a rock. She would have put this uncharacteristic behaviour of his down to the heat if it hadn’t been for several instances she had caught him looking at her, opening his mouth as if there was subject he wished to broach with her- only to change his mind and quickly return to his book.

After perhaps half an hour of this had passed (during which time Maria's nerves grew steadily more and more frayed with each of her uncle's failed attempts to speak), they were joined by Mrs Digweed, Loveday and the children. Their arrival made Maria’s heart sink even further, for if there had been an element of tension in the room _before_ they had arrived, it was now to be amplified six fold. Both she and Sir Benjamin engrossed themselves with renewed determination in their books, dissuading any discussion and Mrs Digweed and Loveday thus took up their own employments, the children playing on the rug at their feet.

Despite everyone’s determined pretence otherwise, there was no denying that they were all simply _waiting_. The restless energy trapped in the room with them all was, unfortunately, doomed only to grow with each passing minute and a spiralling panic slowly began to take over Maria senses. For goodness’ sake, she just wanted it to be _over_ , either Mr Abbots visit or the heat, she didn’t care which, but she absolutely couldn't deal with _both_ , couldn't deal with the unspoken but deafening loud thoughts of her family, the tension that was being pulled tauter and tauter with each minute spent _waiting_ -

It abruptly snapped as a shriek ripped through the air from the rug. Mrs Digweed immediately dropped her cup which smashed on the floor; Loveday stabbed herself with the needle she was using to sew a fawn-sized coat out of what appeared to by one of Sir Benjamin’s waistcoats and he himself leap to his feet, standing on the tail of the spaniel lying at his feet. The poor dog shot upwards, tripping his master over and a confused clamour of cursing, shouting and barking filled the room.

It transpired that Eliza had picked up George’s favourite toy, a wooden lion painted black. Having only intended to momentarily put this down, George had angrily snatched it back from his sister, who, outraged by injustice of this but only a year old and not very mobile, had vented her frustration by _biting_ her brother sharply on the arm. George had quite naturally shrieked in pain and surprise, causing the sudden commotion that upended the room, and then batted his sister away in an attempt to unlatch her. This action was unfortunately witnessed by his parents, who, understanding it as an unprovoked attack, immediately started shouting at him.

Only after several minutes of bellowing and wailing were the bite marks finally noticed and the truth realised; with some disbelief.

"Where the _devil_ did she learn to do that?" Sir Benjamin demanded, turning incredulously to his wife.

"Don't you look at _me_ like that Benjamin Merryweather,” Loveday exclaimed, firing up at once at the inferred accusation, “She could have only inherited a temper like _that_ from _you_!"

"From _me_? _Brutality_ is a _De Noir_ characteristic-"

The developing argument was cut short however as George hurled his toy back at his sister. Eliza let out what sounded like a battle cry, throwing herself forwards towards him-

" _Hell's teeth_!" Sir Benjamin bellowed, snatching his daughter up from the ground as Loveday seized George and pulled him away to safety, _“_ I don’t know _what’s_ happened to this house recently, but _I’ve had enough_ and I want some normality restored!”

It was at this point that Maria reached her own limit of endurance. “I’m going for a walk,” She declared, shooting instantly to her feet.

“A _walk_?” Mrs Digweed protested. “But-”

“Oh, let her go,” Sir Benjamin snapped, shifting a fidgeting Eliza into the crook of one arm. Then, managing to regain some of his usual composure, he rubbed his temples with his free hand. Turning to his niece, he spoke in again in a more controlled tone this time. “Just please make sure you’re back in an hour Maria,”

Nodding, but unable to speak, Maria hurried from the room. While half of her recognised this permission of her uncle to be extremely generous of him, given the circumstances, the other half of her wanted to accidentally-on-purpose take a route that would keep her well away from the house for several hours. Once outside though, it quickly became clear that the cloying atmosphere of the house had not been simply of Maria’s own imagining and any hopes of a reprieve from it were dashed; the stillness of the air weighed heavily on her shoulders and it was so thick and leaden with tension that it was almost suffocating.

Nevertheless, Maria hastened away, heedless of the directions she was going in so long as it was _away_. No matter how fast she walked though, she couldn’t outpace the tidal wave of panic was now crashing over her, her fear and insecurities drowning her. What if by ‘ _restoring normality’_ , her uncle had meant her _leaving_? Because it was _her_ return to Moonacre that had been the only real change. Like always, _she_ was the one causing the uproar, no doubt through her constant social slip ups and that was to say _nothing_ of the disruption to George and Eliza’s settled routine and the sudden presence of _suitors_ at Moonacre…

That must’ve been why Sir Benjamin had been so fidgety all morning: her uncle had wanted to tell Maria that she should accept Mr Abbot. She was a young woman after all, and that was what young women did; they left their homes and families and entered new ones. Mr Abbot was, by all accounts, an eligible young man who would be considered a good and respectable match. There was absolutely nothing unreasonable about his intentions at all, even if Maria hadn’t wanted to encourage them or felt she had only just got back, for sooner or later, she would always be expected to leave her uncle’s house, _would_ have been expected to leave her father’s too if he had lived.

But _how_ could Maria leave Moonacre Valley? She wasn’t just any young lady, she was a _Moon Princess_. She’d been at school for nearly five years and even after all of that, of trying to supress that part of herself, she hadn’t been able to and _she_ _didn’t want to_. She _was_ both, she could never go quite so far as Loveday had done at first, wandering around barefoot with snakes wrapped around her neck and living in a cave, but she couldn’t stand to live in London anymore either, couldn’t stand to accept a man she felt nothing for and live a life of politeness and civility. She _never_ felt herself around Mr Abbot and that was what she wanted, _to just be_ _herself_. She wanted only that simple freedom, _wanted_ -

Oh Heavens above, Maria knew _exactly_ what it was that she wanted. In all her panic and fear, the truth of her own heart had never been so clear to her, or so impossible to deny and dismiss.

For it was with _Robin De_ _Noir_ that she felt freest with. It always had been. The truth was it had _never_ annoyed her that he teased her so much, not really, but it did hurt that it might just all be a bit fun to him, _because he was all she wanted_. _That_ was why the mention of all those other De Noir girls and Robin’s self-confessed popularity had rankled her so much, because they made so much more sense than she ever could, and he probably _would_ end up marrying one of them one day _._ And the real reason the thought of marrying Mr Abbot was so terrifying to her? _Because he wasn’t Robin._

Stumbling to halt, Maria closed her eyes, breathing hard. _There_ , she had admitted it to herself. Whether it made her feel better or worse, she wasn’t sure, but it was the truth, a truth which she’d been trying to deny to herself ever since she’d first seen Robin after arriving back and supressed the urge to throw herself into his arms. It had probably been long before that even. So at least now the battle to deny it could cease raging within her, her thoughts and emotions stop besieging her so unrelentingly…

Letting out a breath, Maria opened her eyes and glanced around at her surroundings, for she realised she had paid no attention at all to where her feet had been taking her. She was in the forest, at least that much was obvious, but where, or for how long she’d been walking, she had no idea. She was hot and uncomfortable, although this was hardly any indication of either given the extreme weather conditions. The distraction of her thoughts had allowed to get this far, probably to some pace, but now, the heat of the day hit her full force, along with the fact that she should have been sheltering from it, not charging about at the hottest part of it without so much as a canteen of water.

Tripping over to the nearest tree, Maria collapsed down against the base of it, burying her face in her hands. Oh, how _stupid_ had she been, getting herself into this situation? And how cowardly, running away in the first place? But still she dreaded going back and facing Mr Abbot, even now, when she knew why. Not that it really mattered much, since, lost in the forest, her chances of actually getting back in time for his arrival were slim. Oh, she’d messed up _royally_ this time. Not only had she disobeyed her uncle’s generous request and put him in an awkward situation, but the longer she was gone, the more worried her family would become when she failed to return. And when she _did_ finally manage to get back, and the reason for her lateness was learnt, they would be nothing but disappointed in her with every right to be so…

Whatever her reception was to be, sitting here delaying her return, however late, would achieve nothing though. She of all people should have known that running from her problems and burying her head in the sand, which was precisely what Maria now realised she’d been doing, _never_ worked. No, she supposed that the most sensible thing to do now would be to find a stream to take a drink from before the heat got the better of her. That would hopefully give her some indication of where she was too, and if that failed, she could at least follow it to the coast and back track around to Moonacre Manor the long way. Sighing, Maria got to her feet, resolving herself to this plan and starting off.

Forging on without the blind panic that had been fuelling her before, however, proved to be much harder. The heat really was unbearable and Maria was already tired out and thirsty from her earlier efforts. No stream appeared, just unfamiliar tree after unfamiliar tree and as she trudged along, Maria’s anger with herself grew. The situation was _all_ of her own making, both the perilous one she currently in, and the foolish one that had led to it in the first place. _For heaven’s sake_ , she should have just been _honest_ with herself from the beginning, and even more so, she should have been honest with her family. Loveday had _told_ her she could talk to her, and she could have, perhaps not about Robin, but at least about Mr Abbot. And even if her uncle _had_ wanted her to marry the latter, she could have at least confided in him that she wasn't ready yet. He’d never have _forced_ her, and he could have deferred any intended proposal until she was more ready to consider one…

But she hadn't. And why _not_? What had she been trying to achieve? Trying to _prove_?

 _Herself_ , Maria realised. She had tried to act how she thought everyone had wanted her to, but how could she have known precisely what they wanted or expected? She hadn’t spoken to them. In fact, she hadn’t properly, _truly_ talked to them since she had first left, and that was the problem; she had just presumed that they still had the same attitude as they had done when she’d first been sent away to school. She’d resented that decision so much, had been _so_ determined to prove to them that she was something she wasn’t, trying to please them all, that she’d dug herself into an impossible situation which had now back fired spectacularly.

And she had no-one but herself and her own _pride_ to blame for it.

Stumbling past a line of trees, Maria abruptly came to a halt as she crossed into a small clearing. And _finally_ , she recognised where she was, for it was the same clearing that she’d set her trap for Robin in six years ago. And sitting on the same log he had done after promising to listen, was Robin himself.

“What are _you_ doing here?” She exclaimed in surprise before she could stop herself.

The shock that had briefly flashed across Robin’s face at her arrival quickly disappeared in response to this rather accusatory tone.

“You know, you’ve asked me that a lot recently,” He remarked dryly, “So let me explain to you how it works; this is the forest. The forest belongs to the De Noirs. And _I’m_ a De Noir,”

“Oh don’t give me that,” Maria retorted, in no mood for his sarcasm as wound up as she already was, “Castle Black _also_ belongs to the De Noirs, but Richard was right, you don’t seem to _ever_ spend any time _there!_ ”

At the mention of Richard, Robin stood up, narrowing his eyes. "Oh _was_ he? And just what else has _Richard_ been saying about me?"

"How should I know?” Maria asked impatiently, “I've got better things to do than listen to you idiot friends-"

"Oh I'm _sure_ you do,” Robin drawled, his voice full of sarcasm now, “Speaking _of_ , what time was it that your visitor was supposed to arrive at? Isn’t your _Mr Abbot_ supposed be going down on one knee right about now?"

The intended jibe hit too close to home and Maria instantly snapped. "Can't you give it a _rest_?” She exclaimed angrily, “I am, in fact, _aware_ of how much of a mess I tend to make of everything without _you_ reminding me of it at every opportunity you get!"

A flicker of surprise entered Robin’s eyes at this outburst. "Well perhaps you should stop trying to please everyone so much then," he suggested, quickly recovering it again.

"Oh, well, that’s easy for you to say, isn’t it?" Maria scoffed.

"What’s that that supposed to mean?" Robin demanded back, narrowing his eyes at her and stalking forward. When Maria only made a disdainful noise and made to turn away, he caught her arm. “No, _explain_ ,” He ordered.

Glaring at him, Maria pulled her arm back, resisting the urge to jab him accusingly in the chest, “It means, it’s alright for _you_ , Robin, because you’ve been here, haven’t you? In a place you won’t ever have to leave, where you can do whatever you like! Meanwhile, _I’ve_ been shut up in London for the past five years dreaming of when I’ll be back for good and hoping to God I get it right this time!” She shook her head angrily, “Don’t you have _any_ idea how much I _missed_ this place? Missed my family? Missed _you_?”

Robin’s expression had darkened as she spoke. “Your uncle should never have sent you away in the first place,” He muttered bitterly.

“He didn’t know what to do with me!” Maria cried, “He still doesn’t! And why does it matter so much to _you,_ anyway?”

“For God’s sake Maria, has it never occurred to you that _I_ might have missed _you_ too?” Robin looked angry himself now, “Just because your uncle and my damn sister thought it was in your best interests to send you away didn’t mean I did! I know more than anyone how much you belong here!”

“Then _why_ are you always getting me into trouble and making it so difficult!?”

“Because I want to make sure that _you’re_ still in there, regardless of whatever you’ve let that school try and turn you into-”

“That’s _not_ fair Robin, I hardly had much choice in that did I? But since _you_ apparently know so much better, please, _do_ enlighten me as to what exactly it is _you_ would have done in my position-”

“I’d have told them all to go to hell,” Robin growled.

Maria made a noise of derision, “Oh, because it’s _that_ simple isn’t it?”

“ _Yes it is_ ,” Robin said emphatically, “Maria, you’re the _Moon Princess_. It’s not for anyone else to dictate who or how you should be, it’s not for _you_ to prove yourself to your family. You already did that and it’s _their_ turn to prove themselves to _you_! And if there’s _anyone_ who doesn’t accept that, _then to hell with them_ , send them to me and _I’ll_ set them straight,” He shook his head, “You’ve never had a problem saying it to me, have you?”

“Well it never mattered did it?” Maria retorted, “You’ve never taken any notice so long as I’ve given you a good laugh-”

“ _Never taken any notice_?" Robin echoed incredulously, looking at her in disbelief, "I do _nothing_ but take notice, _Princess_. Your family never realised how miserable that school was making you did they?”

“Of course they did, they just had other things to worry about at the time,” Maria dismissed, shaking her head defensively, “I was hardly their priority at that point-”

“Then whose priority _were you_ Maria?” Robin demanded, his eyes flashing, “Because you've _always_ been-"

He broke off abruptly though, a muscle jumping in his jaw as he clenched it shut.

“Out of sight does not mean out of mind,” He ground out after a moment, “It’s just as much your family’s responsibility to look after you as it is for you to look after them, so _stop_ making excuses for everyone,"

"I'm _not_ making excuses for everyone!" Maria denied, firing up at once at his harsh tone, "Things have _changed_ , that’s just the way they are now-”

"That never stopped you before did it? Didn't stop you from marching into Castle Black, or asking for my help or jumping off a _cliff_ -"

"That was _completely_ different, then it was a case of life of death for the whole valley, not just my own-"

"Your own _what_? _Happiness_?” Robin’s voice exploded loudly across the clearing and he looked angrier than Maria had ever seen him, “When are you going to see that it’s _not_ your responsibility to keep _sacrificing_ yourself for everyone else! If you don't want to do something, _don't_. If you want something, _take it_. It's as simple as that!"

"It’s _not_ that simple!” Maria shouted back, her own fury reaching a height, “Maybe for _you_ it is, the _De Noir heir_ , but it's _not_ for me! You have no idea, do you? Absolutely none, it’s so easy for you to just-”

She couldn’t find the words though. The frustration boiling within her had turned to anger which only grew when she found she couldn’t satisfactorily vent it as she so desperately wanted to. Something wet hit her face she stood there glaring at him and she impatiently wiped it away, fully intending to continue shouting regardless, but another struck her hand, and then another.

“It’s raining," She exclaimed, distractedly glancing upwards as several more raindrops fell through the canopy of leaves above them. Wound up and overwhelmed as she was, the proof of her senses didn’t immediately translate to her clouded mind. But then-

“ _It’s_ _raining_!" With a cry of disbelief Maria ducked out from under the trees into the clearing, turning her face upwards towards the sky as the truth of her words truly dawned on her.

Rain, _blessed rain_ , was beginning to fall faster and faster around her; a low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance and within seconds, it was pouring down, soaking Maria to her skin. But she didn’t care. She let the deluge wash over her, unable to truly believe it-

The heatwave was _finally_ breaking. Letting out of breath of shaky laughter, Maria pulled her hair from its twist, shaking it free as a feeling of pure _relief_ swept through her. Completely forgetting their heated row in that moment, she spun around to face Robin where he was still stood beneath the trees.

“Robin it’s _raining_!” Maria called to him again, “It’s actually raining! Come and see!”

Rushing over to him, she seized his arm, trying to tug him out from beneath the shelter of the branches. At first he was reluctant, clearly unwilling to get as wet as she was, but this only made her laugh all the more, pull him with even more determination into the downpour-

And then Robin was out in the middle of the clearing with her, whirling her about, his hair plastered to his face and every bit as soaked as she was.

Maria forgot everything but her relief and delight. Every one of her troubles fell away into significance as a feeling of liberation flooded her every sense. Never _once_ had she thought that _rain_ could make her so happy; in London it had made the grey city even more depressing and at Moonacre it was a nuisance that kept her inside. But now, she was breathless from laughing, giddy with relief and lighter than air as Robin spun her around and around. Time seemed to fall away and the world blurred around them as she twirled and twisted under his arm, it was as if they were the only two people in it and she felt she would fall off its edge if he let go of her, but she _knew_ he wouldn’t, it didn’t feel as if he would ever stop and she didn’t want to-

Until abruptly she was twirled right up to his broad frame.

"Maria..."

Stumbling into him, it was the tone of Robin’s voice more than the call of her name that broke the spell and caught her attention. Holding her steady, Robin brushed a sodden lock of hair from her face.

“I want you to promise you’ll tell me the truth,” He said, speaking again in that same, ragged tone, devoid of any sarcasm or teasing. Staring dizzily up at him, Maria could only nod, unable to speak for she could tell from the fierceness of his eyes on hers, the rawness of his voice that they’d reached some sort of significant crossroads, one that she couldn’t run away from this time.

Robin’s hand dropped to her neckline and his fingers skimmed against the skin of her neck, to the chain he now knew was concealed below the neckline of dress. "Why?" His voice was low, but somehow sounded louder to Maria than the storm lashing so violently down around them, " _Why_ do you wear this?"

Maria’s pounding heart missed a beat.

"I-" She faltered, swallowing, but she couldn’t speak. The words had caught in her throat for she was afraid to say them. _But she_ _had_ _to_. Promises between them had always been significant and she couldn’t break her word now, no matter what it might mean. Closing her eyes, the words that had always meant so much to her flashed in her mind. _A piece of home for you Princess_. Why had they always meant so much to her? Why had she hung the feather close to her heart and never taken it off? _Always_ for exactly the same reason.

"Because it came from you,"

Opening her eyes, a flash of lightning split the sky above. Everything around them seemed to freeze, there seemed nothing else in the world beyond the burn of Robin’s eyes as he took in her words. And in that moment, caught in their irrevocable intensity, Maria instantly, instinctively, _unknowingly_ leaned upwards at the same time as Robin rushed downwards-

Their lips crashed together with a certainty that Maria couldn’t have mistaken. She could have cried out in relief the feeling was so strong, but any sound would have been lost. Her hands wrapped around Robin’s neck, tangled in his hair and it was so completely different from how she imagined because it was finally _real_. The wind and the rain whipped around them but she didn't care, didn't notice because all that mattered was Robin's mouth against hers, his arm wrapping tightly around her waist, his other stretching upwards along her spine, burying his hand in the hair at the nape of her neck as she clung to him. She had no idea what she was doing but it didn’t matter because it was Robin, _her_ _Robin,_ who’d been her first _everything_ and he was kissing her with every bit as much longing as she had ever felt, as if she were his _last_ -

It was only when lightning forked down from the sky again and there was a deafening crack from somewhere nearby in the forest that they pulled apart. The trunk of a tree at the edge of a clearing crashed downward into another behind it and Robin instinctively yanked Maria behind himself, throwing a wild look around at their surroundings. Roused to reality of intensifying storm around them, the danger of their position standing in the middle of it, he grabbed Maria’s hand, pulling her away into the forest. To her though, the storm only seemed an extension of maelstrom raging within herself. Weaving through the trees with him, she was insensible to all but her hand wrapped tightly in Robin’s, unable to think and only to feel. She was soaked to the skin, it wasn’t the rain making her shiver nor the wind ripping up leaves and twigs as it howled past them. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears and she had no idea where they were going, not until a tree with massive twisting roots flashed up ahead of them and it struck her that of course, where else would they go?

They flew through the hidden opening with the same urgency as the first time they had fallen through it. The noise of the storm was instantly muffled, for even as it crashed across the valley above them, it couldn’t reach the still, timeless refuge of the hollow. But whatever it’s magic, it didn’t matter, not now.

They were barely through the hideaway’s tiny door before Maria was pulling Robin back to her and she kept pulling even when his mouth was back on hers, until she was pressed between him and the gnarled wall, desperate to have him as close as possible. Robin answered her fiercely, but it wasn’t enough, _he_ still wasn’t close enough; Maria reached for his shirt, pushing and tugging until it was gone with his help and finally- _finally_ \- her hands were on his skin. She couldn’t stop herself now, was so far past the point no return, and as she raked her fingers down his abdomen it occurred to her that maybe, just maybe it hadn't only been _him_ undoing _her_ over the past weeks, not if the throaty groan he let out was anything to go by, or the way he was so desperately, so _hungrily_ kissing her…

It wasn't long before Robin’s skin alone failed to be enough for them. Robin unbuttoned the bodice of her dress quickly enough but presented with the tightly laced back of her corset, let out an impatient growl. Pulling the same knife from his boot he’s used on the apple, he ripped through the laces, tearing through them in a way that sent a shiver of pure unadulterated _want_ through Maria because it was so very Robin, rough and strong and purposeful. Yanking the rest of the garment away, he threw his knife aside with it, his hands drifting over her as he stood flush against her back, his lips gliding down her neck as she tilted her head to bare more of it to him-

Things stopped being coherent after that. Maria’s remaining clothes were gone and she was on her back beneath him, his lips and his fingers trailing across her skin as if he was determined to map every inch of her, to discover each and every place that made her gasp and arch into him. She shuddered as she was rocked by waves of pleasure, Robin’s arm slung over her hip holding her down, and her own hands were tangled in his hair as he made her burn and tremble and she could cry out as loudly as she wanted because the thunder drowned her out and there no one to hear her anyway. And when he rose back up over her, there had been a moment when he'd paused, breathing out her name. But so lost in the moment, in _him_ , there was no hesitation for Maria. She’d pulled his lips back down to hers and whatever resolve he'd summoned crumbled and then- and _then_ -

There was nothing else in the world beyond the two on them and it had never felt so right.

*

The storm had blown itself out by the time Maria’s senses began to return to her. Light slanted in through the knotted root ceiling and the noise of the wind raging above ground had entirely died away. It could have been hours later, but lying curled against Robin's side, her head tucked into his neck and the heat of his body bleeding into her own, Maria wasn’t sure she cared much at first. His chest rose and fell beneath her hand, his heart beating a steady rhythm, and that, for a long time, was the only thing she was conscious of.

"We shouldn’t have done that. Your uncle will probably kill me..."

Maria felt Robin speak as much as she heard him, his chest thrumming beneath her fingers. Low and absent, the words were the first that had been spoken between them since their flight through the forest. As the irrepressible wave of passion that had taken over her and its hazy afterglow began to fade, in the wake of what she was beginning to realise she’d just done, they sent a flutter of doubt and uncertainty through her.

"Believe it or not, I wasn't planning on telling him…" Sitting up with her back to him, Maria cast her eyes around for something to cover up _._ But the only thing she could see, apart from their damp clothes scattered around out of reach, was the threadbare blanket beneath them, something which Robin had had the presence of mind to yank off the woven root bed before they had tumbled to the floor, because they hadn’t even made it that far. Not that something that old would have likely withstood their... _vigour_.

Maria blushed at the thought.

"No, Maria that’s not what I-" Sensing her unease, Robin had instantly sat up behind her, "All I meant-” He elaborated, tugging her back to him and pressing an absent-minded kiss to her shoulder, “-was that _that_ probably wasn’t the best way to have gone about things…"

At the reassuring feeling of his arms wrapping around her, Maria couldn’t help but feel the tension and anxiety within her ease a little. "You weren't voicing any concerns earlier," she pointed out, relaxing back into his embrace.

Robin’s arms tightened around her and he grinned against her shoulder. "Well, you sort of drove all thought from my mind,"

"That’s hardly much of an achievement,” Maria quipped with some of her usual composure, turning to look at him with her eyebrows raised, “You’re not capable of thinking too much,”

“No, not recently,” he admitted, much to her surprise. “Why else do you think I’ve been getting in your way so much?”

“Because you have nothing better to do,” Maria replied reflexively. But the argument she had convinced herself of no longer rang true. Not given the way she was wrapped up in his arms, giving into an intimacy which somehow felt easier than she ever imagined…

“Oh I but I have," Robin disagreed, his fingers unconsciously trailing down her arm as if unable to stop himself, "In fact, in everyone else’s opinion, I’ve been shirking my responsibilities. But it’s not my fault you’re so damn distracting...” His lips brushed her temple as he paused, “I love you. I have done for years. And whatever you want to do now, if you want me to marry you tomorrow, I’ll do it, I swear,”

Maria’s breath caught in her throat as these words washed over her. Closing her eyes, she turned her head to lean her forehead against his; it didn’t seem possible, either that she could have been on his mind in exactly the same way he’d been on hers, or his confession that he loved her, stated so simply, with so much certainty and conviction. But at the same time, it explained so much though: his behaviour, which she now began to recognise had been an almost perfect mirror of her own, and why being here, now, wrapped up in his arms, felt so right, so natural…

As everything always had with Robin, she instantly thought. And whatever her previous uncertainties about his motives had been, his promises were something she’d never had reason to doubt. And she never would.

“I don’t want you to do anything,” Maria breathed, slowly drawing back and opening her eyes again. Seeing his expression though, and realising how her words must have sounded, she found it was her turn to hastily backtrack. “I mean, not yet. I don’t want anyone else involved. I just want it to be us, to have some freedom…"

“You’ll have more freedom than you’ve ever known at the castle,” Robin pointed out, unable to keep a hint of a frown from his face.

Maria sighed. “No I won’t, not so soon after coming back…” Pulling away from him, she reached for his damp shirt. He helped guide over her head and she threaded her arms through its oversized sleeves, which immediately slipped down her slim shoulders. “I tell my family I want to marry you and I guarantee you they’ll make me wait,” She explained, tugging its neck back up, “We wouldn’t get a moment alone together and I doubt I'd even be allowed out of sight during that time-”

“I don’t care,” Robin flatly interrupted, “I don’t care about what _they_ want Maria. I _meant_ what I said earlier and if they've got a problem with putting what _you_ want first-"

“But you see, _I_ am their problem Robin," Maria cut in with a soft smile. "They love me, but I’ve made things terribly complicated for myself. You were right earlier, about what you said; I _have_ been trying to please everyone, and at my own expense. While some of that _is_ their fault, it’s mine too. I haven’t let them in for so long…”

At the regretful expression suddenly on her face, Robin shook his head. “Then _they_ should have noticed that,” he replied fiercely, pulling her towards him. Maria didn’t stop him, but rising to her knees over him, she pressed her finger firmly to his lips, looking down at him.

“I haven’t let them,” She repeated, “Ever since I first left, I’ve kept everything bottled up, even more so since I got back. And they’ve tried more that I have _._ Loveday came and apologised to me, first thing that morning after that dinner-”

“-Only because I told her to-”

“-well, yes, but she still did it. She told me I could talk to her, but I didn’t, I convinced myself I couldn’t. And my uncle, maybe he’s only been so grumpy lately because he just wanted to talk to me. He never was very good at that anyway so I should have at least given him the chance…”

Maria frowned to herself, pausing and biting her lip. “I’ve been concentrating so hard on trying to fit into the Moonacre that I left, rather than the one I’ve come back to. I thought I had to prove that I’d changed, but being sent away to school was never about that in the first place. I may have resented it for a long time, but it was only ever done in my best interests. And it _did_ do me some good…” 

At this, Robin made an irritated noise. “It _has_ Robin,” Maria insisted before he could say anything, “I’ve always been impulsive, recklessly so at times. But I _do_ think more before I act now. Not all the time, clearly-” She glanced down bemusedly at the black shirt she was wearing, the _only_ thing she was wearing, “-and certainly never when you’re concerned…”

“ _Good_ ,” Robin broke in firmly. This made Maria smile _,_ for she knew it was a comment made in support of her own choice, her own impulse, rather than what it had led to.

“Well, be that as it may, I still don’t want them to think that _you’re_ just one of my impulsive decisions,” She informed him, “I’ve grown apart from them and springing this on them, without expecting them to react isn’t fair. Our families do _not_ have a good track record when it comes to overdramatic reactions,” She paused, pushing her hand gently into his hair and away from his face so she could look directly into his eyes, “What I’m trying to say is I want to wait until _I’m_ ready rather than they are. Can you understand that at least?”

Robin stared back at her for several long moments, looking as if he very much wanted to argue. But then he finally appeared to relent. "You worry too much about what your family thinks,” He muttered grudgingly, tugging her down into his lap “But yes, princess, I understand,”

“It won’t be forever,” Maria promised, loving him all the more for this surrender, which she knew was made only for her and no-one else, “Just until I’m ready leave Moonacre,” She raised her hand, tracing her fingers delicately across the top of his shoulders as a sense of both shyness and boldness filled her, “And perhaps I really just want you all to myself first…”

At this last remark, all the fight in Robin’s voice vanished. “ _Oh Princess_ ,” he groaned, “Haven't you figured that out yet? You always have. Ever since you caught me in that stupid trap of yours,” He shook his head, looking at her almost pleadingly, “ _Surely_ you must have realised that by now…”

"How could I have?” Maria asked, feeling a little defensive at this, “You were older than me and then I was away so much…”

“So what?”

“ _So_ , you could have had anyone!”

“I’ve never wanted anyone else,” Robin told her, shaking his head again, “But I was afraid you might, all that time away in London. I was worried that one day you might not want to come back. So I irritated you as much as I could when you were so I’d stick in your mind one way or another…”

“I never wanted to be there,” Maria reassured him, “And I never thought of anyone else, so clearly, your ridiculous tactics must have worked,” She raised her eyebrows, “What does that say about me?”

“That you have very good judgement,” He grinned back, “Or terrible,”

"Let's pretend it’s the former shall we?" Maria remarked drily, "And what about you? What was it that was apparently so very _irresistible_ about me to you?"

"Apart from the obvious?” Robin asked, his eyes roaming down her shoulder, once again exposed by his shirt before looking back up with a grin, “Or that I alone seemed to be able to get under your skin so much? That I irritated you rather than charmed you, and no matter how much I riled you, you still ignored me, rebuffed me even? How could I _not_ find you irresistible?”

"Are you saying it’s because I played _hard to get_?” Maria asked, incredulous and somewhat unimpressed by this, “That's hardly very original is it?"

"I think the more accurate turn of phrase is you gave me the thrill of the chase,” He corrected, “What else would work on a hunter?"

Maria rolled her eyes. "Call it what you like, it comes to the same thing; everyone else was just too easy!"

Robin shook his head, his tone turning suddenly serious. "Well if they were, it's was only because you weren't. It’s always been you princess, only you. Everyone else knew that, but you never seemed interested, so I didn’t think you were either. It was only when I saw your necklace that I realised maybe that wasn’t true, but then when I came to see you the next morning, you ran away and hid from me all day…"

"Well of course I did,” Maria retorted, feeling defensive again, “You weren't inspiring much confidence, bragging about your popularity-"

"Well neither were you,” Robin pointed out, “I was hoping to get some sort of reaction out of you but you'd barely even _look_ at me…"

“Oh _Robin_ ,” Maria shook her head in sudden exasperation and amusement, “Clearly you know about as much about women as your friends…”

Robin opened his mouth to reply to this but Maria caught his face, directing his gaze into hers before he could speak. “Do you remember last Christmas?” She asked, “That evening you and your father came to Moonacre?"

"Of course I do,” He frowned, “You were telling George about school. He was asking you about your teachers and you told him that the one you liked best was your dancing mistress..."

“Yes,” Maria nodded, "Then he wanted me to show him how to waltz, and you offered to dance with me-"

"-but you wouldn't. You said I wasn't a suitable dancing partner,"

"And you weren't," Maria agreed, trailing her fingers along his jawline, "All that scruffy stubble of yours again? You were the complete _opposite_ of a suitable dancing partner,”

“Hang on, _that’s_ why you wouldn’t dance?” Robin demanded, looking indignant, “Because I wasn’t _clean shaven_?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Maria replied emphatically, “You weren’t fit for the dining table, let alone waltzing,” She fixed her eyes on him meaningfully, “So I was absolutely terrified of getting anywhere _near_ you because I was certain if I did _,_ I was very _definitely_ going to end scandalising my family…”

There was several moments of silence as Robin stared at her in response to this.

“You’re saying,” He eventually said, the same disbelief in his eyes that she had felt when she had finally understood _his_ feelings for her, “All those times you averted your eyes, every time you’ve _blushed_ -” He broke off.

"You have no idea how much you’ve been on my mind Robin De Noir...” Maria confessed, trailing her hand down his chest and unwilling to meet his gaze as she admitted this last secret.

"Oh princess,” Robin breathed, catching her hand, “I _really_ think I do…"

Drawn by the intensity in his voice, Maria slowly looked back up to see it burning even more fiercely in his eyes. And _oh_ , how obvious it was now what that glint was. She’d glimpsed it so often recently, but only now did she recognise it as the same longing she’d been so busy fighting to conceal from him. He’d doubted her own feelings for him just as she’d doubted his, but the difference was he’d never denied his own for her. And more importantly, it should have been obvious to her, the instant she'd found him where she had, at _their_ spot in the forest, at the same time another man was supposed to be proposing to her, _what that had meant_.

Maria’s fleeting sense of self-consciousness vanished as she decided she never wanted him to have any reason to doubt how much she wanted him, _only him_ , ever again. She understood everything now, and so did he. Leaning in was instinctual and her lips instantly found his, but it was nothing like their first kiss, which had been so frenzied and desperate, as if there was never to be another chance. This time, it was slow and sure; passionate but deliberate. Robin’s lips were unwavering and steady, and Maria moved her own in time with his in a way she hadn’t been conscious of before, savouring every moment and breathing him as in it deepened.

Letting the intensity gradually grow, she curled her fingers against his shoulders, rising to her knees and sliding her hands into his hair. His own were so warm at her waist; she could feel them even through his shirt as he pulled her closer. He was so solid and _real_ and even though this was new territory for her, was supposed to be wrong, how could it be when it felt _so_ _right_? Her desire was flooding through her, but she felt in control of it this time, empowered by it. She could feel no guilt, either about what she had already done or was she doing now for she had no doubts; her faith in Robin was absolute and unequivocal. They had always been equals, so if he had told her he loved her and if she was sure she loved him, how could she deny either?

They broke apart some moments later. Her eyes still closed and her forehead leaning against his, Maria could feel her heart racing, the heat of his body flooding into her own. Her hand slipped from his hair to splay against his chest, reminding her of just how little was separating them, for no matter how natural it felt is was still so new to her.

“You’re blushing,” Robin murmured, his fingers sweeping across her cheek bone.

“Of course I am,” Maria answered, powerless to stop her cheeks heat up even more under his gaze as she opened her eyes, “I’m hardly used to this am I?”

“Well, I hope you don’t mind getting used to it,” He replied, a slight smirk pulling across his lips. At such a familiar expression, Maria felt some of her composure and confidence restore itself.

“I suppose that depends,” She mused, repressing a smile of her own and deliberately keeping her tone vague.

“On what?” Robin asked, a flicker of a frown eclipsing his grin.

“Well, on whether you can maintain the standard you’ve set…”

At the unmistakable challenge dancing in Maria’s eyes, Robin’s expression flashed from one of momentary doubt to one of single-minded intent. “Oh I think I can manage that Princess,” He assured her, his voice rough in a way that made Maria’s stomach flutter.

“Good,” She whispered, trying to ignore the kisses he was beginning to trail insistently down her neck, “Although I really should be getting back now, before I’m missed, or I’ll get into trouble…”

“I told you,” He said, his breath hot on her collarbone and making her shiver, “I’ll deal with anyone who has in issue with you doing what you want…”

“And you’ll tell them that I’m back so late because you were busy seducing me?” Maria breathed, fighting to inject an air is scepticism into her tone.

“If anyone’s been doing the seducing, it’s definitely been _you_ ,” Robin disagreed, “And you can tell them we got caught in the storm, it’s the truth,”

“The storms over now…”

“Then tell then it’s none of their business,”

“That will _definitely_ tip them off that we been up to no good…”

“No _good_?” Abruptly drawing back, Robin grabbed her hip, pushing her backwards until her was hovering over her. “Well I definitely can’t have that,” He breathed.

“That’s- that’s not what I meant,” Maria stammered, her cheeks heating up, but an undeniable a shiver ran up her spine at the feeling of him stretched over her again, her skin singing with the memory of the searing heat of his own.

“In fact,” Robin carried on, tracing his finger slowly along the outside of her thigh and up beneath his shirt to her hip, “Since you’re apparently going to be discussing my performance with all your female friends, I’d prefer to make sure its overwhelmingly positive…”

“Oh, is that why you were so _generous_?” Amusement suddenly overtook her formerly stuttering senses and Maria pushed Robin back with a hand to his chest to raise her eyebrows inquiringly at him, “To preserve your reputation? Did I put the fear of god into you as well as Richard and David?”

“Just David actually,” Robin grinned, “Richard seems to have turned it to his advantage. You’ve completely upset the balance of things back at the castle…”

“I’m good at that,” Maria smirked back, “And luckily for you, since I very definitely can’t put any of this in writing, the only other woman I have to talk to at the moment is Loveday. And she is the one person I certainly _won’t_ be discussing your performance with…”

“No, I would hope you don’t,” Robin frowned, “And since you’re late anyway now…” He brushed his lips temptingly against her own. Maria couldn’t fail to respond at first, but after a moment, she pulled away, placing a delicate finger to them instead.

“I do need to get back,” she insisted, “So how about a compromise, and I tell you how I always get into the forest? I know it’s a mystery that’s been bothering you for years...”

“Funnily enough, your shortcut into the forest really isn’t at the forefront of my mind now,” He answered, tone and gaze not particularly swayed.

“No?” Maria asked, tracing the finger from his lips down, over chest towards his abdomen, “Not even if I told you this short cut leads from a point in the forest directly to my bedroom…?”

At this revelation, Robin let out a pained groan, grabbing her hand and pinning it over her head. “In that case,” He answered, fixing her with a half glare, “I would tell you _not_ to tell me because that would be altogether too tempting and I thought you were insisting on keeping this a secret,”

“Yes, I am,” She affirmed, “But I also happen to have a whole tower to myself that’s miles from anyone else’s room in the Manor, very difficult to access-”

“ _Maria_ ,”

“-and so pretty much never disturbed. So you see, keeping this a secret really will be far easier that you think,” She trailed her toe along the back of his calf, marvelling how easy it was to reverse control as he dropped his head to her collarbone with another groan, “So do you think you can repress any honourable intentions and consent temporarily to a life of sin?"

"I already promised you whatever you wanted didn’t I?” He answered, his voice a mixture of resignation and regret.

“Well, yes, but I’m not entirely unreasonable and demanding…”

“Unreasonable?” Robin repeated, finally raising his head, “ _No_. Demanding? _Always_ ,”

Maria fixed him with an entirely unimpressed look, “This is going to be your only window for negotiation Robin De Noir, so I suggest you take advantage of it and state your terms a little more persuasively,”

“Fine,” Abruptly sitting up straight, he drew her upwards with him, “Then I promise to stick to my word and do whatever you want,” He brushed a stray curl away from her face and looked directly into her eyes, “So long as _you_ promise _me_ to always remain that fiery, impatient, impulsive, stubborn and sharp tongued Princess I fell love with,”

“That’s all?” She asked, raising an eyebrow although a thrill had run through at his words, “In that case I’m not sure you understand how a negotiation works…”

“Those are my terms,” He repeated, his gaze steadfast and unflinching, “And the only terms I’ll offer…”

“Then I accept. I promise,” She answered, a smile spreading across her face, “And I’ve most definitely got the better end of the deal…”

“Oh no princess,” Robin disagreed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, “That’s always been me,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, and there we are! I’m sorry if the last 1000 words or so don’t feel complete, I’ve been obsessing so, so long with how to enhance that final part and not getting anywhere. But hopefully, even if it does feel like its lacking something, you’re happier with getting the chapter as it is rather than waiting even longer! There are few other sections that I was constantly rewriting and reworking every time I was working on this and the pace in places still feels to me as if its needs more work to get right. But your patience needed and deserved rewarding and hopefully it has been! I was desperate to get this up, and maybe its just a case of me being too over familiar with the chapter again. I never seem to be satisfied with my endings after all!
> 
> This story was sort off inspired by Florence + the Machine’s Drumming Song and initially the idea was for a oneshot with three scenes: the dining table, the waterfall and then the storm/cave. But then it took on a life of its own and evolved into something a bit bigger than that! Ironically, its still saved in my ‘Oneshot’ folder, albeit with its own folder. I suppose the overall plot always remained very simple- Maria battling her feelings for Robin while not knowing his, but with a bit of a more mature angle (because apparently all I can write is sexual tension and banter). Saying that, I didn’t want it to be just ‘girl obsesses over boy’ though, so while I have clearly not adhered to the Victorian perspective regarding sex and marriage here (I live in the 21st century after all), I hope I did manage explore some of the conflict a young women living at the time may have felt. While of course being set in the setting of Moonacre! But as I’ve said before, the mix of history and fantasy of the Secret of Moonacre and its characters is why I love it so much! 
> 
> To wrap things up, I do have some notes for a bonus epilogue type chapter sort of based on the idea of ‘five time they were almost caught’. I’ve no plan to work on this any time soon though so this is for all intents and purposes this is now complete, as was always the plan. I need a good break from it, and want to focus on some other Moonacre ideas. I won’t make any promises to post anything new though because, one, I’m a slow writer and work full time with my writing time confined to the odd evening which is not my most constructive and creative time, and two, they are small multi-chapter story ideas but given how long it took to finish this, and how long I kept you all waiting between chapters, I’m reluctant to post anything multi-chaptered when it isn’t finished. So we’ll see. But let me know your opinions on this! Personally, I’m always torn between enjoying a story but the frustration of not knowing how it ends. But which outweighs the other for you?
> 
> Lastly, thank you so much for all the support and comments I've received for this story! I can’t tell you how much it has all meant to me, especially while I've been writing this last chapter! I've worked hard to get it posted before Christmas (so have just got it in under the wire!) and I really look forward to hearing if you enjoyed it and if it was you were expecting! It did escalate rather quickly but hopefully it wasn’t too shocking. It was always planned to happen anyway! Your thoughts would be the best Christmas present, and on that note, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year!


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